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6Whenever a BigBad is [[VillainOnLeave defeated, goes missing, or escapes]], an Interim Villain is neatly placed between the fall and reemergence of the previous BigBad.
7
8The Interim Villain introduces a new side of the story via providing a credible antagonist to challenge the characters, without taking anything away from the story in the same way that an ArcVillain might. It [[ReplacementScrappy might take a while before the fans warm up]] to an Interim Villain, particularly if you go with the (unrecommended) route of a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute.
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10As another cog in the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil, an Interim Villain may range from anywhere between a BreatherBoss (by comparison) to a HeroKiller, depending on the portrayal. They can be connected to the previous BigBad, or they can be completely independent - it's your choice.
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12In order to spot an Interim Villain, their predecessor must still be at large (including situations involving [[BackFromTheDead resurrection]] or [[SealedEvilInACan incarceration]]), and the Interim Villain themselves must return after their own defeat. Their significance to the plot can vary, but it's fine as long as they actually impact the story or characters in some way.
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14This still counts even when an Interim Villain is placed between the fall of the DiscOneFinalBoss and the emergence of his successor. If you pick this scenario, it can sometimes lead to TheBigBadShuffle or BigBadEnsemble.
15
16SubTrope of HijackedByGanon. Compare FillerVillain (inconsequential antagonists meant to drag things along before the meat of the story returns), VillainOfAnotherStory (whose misdeeds are irrelevant to the plot), LoneWolfBoss (video game boss unconnected to the big bad), GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere (video game boss ''only'' existing for the sake of game play) and DiabolusExNihilo (villain who shows up without foreshadowing and is quickly removed from the plot).
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18Contrast ArcVillain (standalone antagonists in general), PredecessorVillain (the antagonist of the backstory) and DiscOneFinalBoss (who's ousted halfway through the plot).
19-----
20!!Examples:
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22[[foldercontrol]]
23
24[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
25* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' introduces these in both canon and in filler.
26** Jin Kariya quickly took over the scene in the anime following [[BigBad Aizen]]'s escape into Hueco Mundo in the previous arc. After Kariya was killed by the end of the Bount arc, Aizen returned for the Arrancar arc. What sets Kariya apart from an ArcVillain is how he returns as a vision to Ichigo, indirectly assisting in getting Ichigo to defeat his Inner Hollow.
27** The Lost Soul Reaper Agent Arc has a villain that is sandwiched between the two major BigBad villains, [[BrokenAce Aizen]] and [[GodEmperor Yhwach]]. He had neither the longevity or gravitas of the other two, but he was able to break Ichigo so completely that [[TheHero Ichigo]] ended up sobbing on his knees begging for his stolen power to be returned. The consequence is the restoration of Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers, allowing Ichigo to come out of his 'retirement' from being a Soul Reaper while also allowing the Gotei 13 to repay their debt to Ichigo for defeating Aizen, by helping him to defeat this interim villain. The villain later returns during the story's final battle to ensure Ichigo has the power required to defeat Yhwach. [[spoiler:The Lost Soul Reaper Agent Arc sets up Tsukishima as the villain only to reveal that Ichigo's supposed ally, [[HerosEvilPredecessor Ginjo]], is the real villain and Tsukishima's boss. Ginjo is later trained by Kuukaku to prepare him for entering the final battle against Yhwach in support of Ichigo. Because the manga was CutShort due to the creator's failing health, the follow-up light novel ''Can't Fear Your Own World'' expands Ginjo's back story, clarifying the full extent of his importance to the wider plot.]]
28* ''Manga/DeathNote'' had the Yotsuba executives, one of whom was the third Kira, whose Death Note restored [[LightIsNotGood Light's]] memories as the original Kira [[spoiler:and led to L's death]].
29* ''Anime/RoninWarriors'' had some shmo take over as #1 Bad Guy for the handful of episodes after Tulpa was defeated and before he came back.
30* In ''Manga/FairyTail'', almost every ArcVillain has some connection to one of the series' two primary [[MythArc Myth Arcs]], one involving [[EvilSorcerer Zeref]] and the Dark Guilds and the other involving [[TheDreaded Acnologia]] and the disappearance of the dragons ([[spoiler:which are later revealed to be related]]). The exception to this is King Faust, the main antagonist of the Edolas arc. He is the tyrannical ruler of an AlternateUniverse where the Fairy Tail guildmembers get stuck, and the guild's conflict with him is mostly unrelated to those with Zeref and Acnologia. Additionally, the Edolas arc occurs between the Oracion Seis and Tenrou Island arcs, both of which involve confrontations with the Dark Guilds, specifically Oracion Seis and Grimoire Heart, respectively.
31* ''Manga/RaveMaster'' gives us [[FallenHero Pumpkin Doryu]], who is the primary antagonist between [[spoiler:King's death and Lucia reviving Demon Card.]]
32* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' LOVES this trope and even loves to play around with it as well as subvert it sometimes. Part 1, has a main villain in the form of Dio Brando, a human-turned-Vampire. In [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Part II]], the main villains were the Pillar Men who were also GreaterScopeVillain for [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood Part I]], since these guys created the Stone Masks that Dio used to become a vampire in the first place. In Part [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders III]], Dio Brando returns, and is more powerful than ever. And this is actually continued. Part 4 has a SerialKiller as a main villain who is completely unrelated to Dio. Part 5 in many ways subverts it since Giorno is technically Dio's son but he is actually a good guy and a protagonist and actually has no idea of his father's conflict with the Joestars (who have almost no role in this story) or even his existance at all. Main villain is Diavolo, Mafia's boss, who can be argued was in some ways, a GreaterScopeVillain to Part 3 since he was the one who sold Stand Arrows to Dio's servant Enya Geil. But ultimately fully played in straight in ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'' where we go back to focusing on the Joestars/ Cujohs and the main villain being [[SinisterMinister Enricco Pucci]], Dio's unseen servant prior to events of ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'' who now wants to finish Dio's job, and receate the universe in Dio's image.
33* ''Anime/DigimonUniverseAppMonsters'' gives us [[PsychoForHire Sateramon]], who only temporarily takes up his predecessor's, [[SmugSnake Mienumon's]], position as TheHeavy before being finally defeated after only a few episodes (he didn't even appear in some of them). After him came [[TeenGenius Unryūji]] [[{{Bishounen}} Knight]] who is {{implied}} by the [[SpoilerOpening second OP]] to be the last [[DragonInChief major henchmen]] [[OrcusOnHisThrone of Leviathan]]. [[spoiler:[[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Well, not for long]].]]
34* The Titans in ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' are the only non-Zeon related villain faction in the Universal Century timeline of the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' franchise (not counting the villains in late U.C. works like ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamF91'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam''.
35* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'': The Mobile Armor Hashmal is one of the few villains in the second season ''not'' connected to the Arianrhod Fleet in any way, and takes over the villain for episodes 30-33 while at the same time [[OutsideContextProblem completely upheaveling the status quo]].
36[[/folder]]
37
38[[folder:Fan Works]]
39* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21081710 Power Rangers Wing Force]]'' has Queen Uuhcura, who unusually for this trope, is also the GreaterScopeVillain of the story.
40* ''Fanfic/RubyAndNora'': After the story ''Field Trip'', all of the villains have some connection to [[BigBad Salem]] and her overarching plan, either by being recruited by her or enabled by her. The only one who doesn't is the villain of ''Attacks''. [[spoiler:Harold White is just a self-centered man engineering [[ScoobyDooHoax fake Grimm attacks]] so he can be the leader of his village while undermining the current village leader, Penwood.]] This conflict is completely unrelated to the larger Salem plot.
41[[/folder]]
42
43[[folder:Film — Animated]]
44* Subverted with Sid Phillips in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', where even though he is the villain of the first film and is completely absent in the second, in the third he only appears as a cameo where he is now a garbage man.
45[[/folder]]
46
47[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
48* Done perfectly with the Joker in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''. In the [[Film/BatmanBegins first movie]] Ra's al Ghul is the BigBad and the leader of the League of Shadows. In the [[Film/TheDarkKnight second movie]], the League of Shadows is forgotten and [[MonsterClown the Joker]] takes over. In the [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises third movie]], [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse the Joker is gone]] while the League of Shadows returns. [[VillainousLegacy Even though Ra's is dead, his daughter and Bane are here to finish his job.]]
49* In ''Film/{{Exam}}'', [[spoiler:Brown]] acts far more antagonistic while [[spoiler:White]] is in his coma.
50* ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'': While Jason remains dead throughout ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning Part V]]'', the killings are instead carried out by a [[JackTheRipoff copycat killer]] named Roy Burns. In the novelization for ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives Jason Lives]]'', Tommy Jarvis theorizes that Jason's spirit may have been influencing Burns' actions from beyond the grave.
51* ''Franchise/IndianaJones'': While the [[Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk first]] and [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade third]] films both have the [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazis]] as the antagonists, the [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom second]] instead has Mola Ram and his cult. [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull Fourth]] has Soviets but [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny fifth]] has [[TheRemnant Nazi Remnant]] who want to go back in time and turn World War II in Nazi favor.
52* ''Film/JamesBond'':
53** The title character of ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', the only villain from the Connery and Lazenby films who had no connection with SPECTRE.
54** Also, in the new Creator/DanielCraig movies, the BigBad is technically Mr. White, though he disappears at the beginning of ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' and is not even mentioned in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}''. In ''Quantum of Solace,'' we have Dominic Greene as the BigBad while in ''Skyfall'' it is Raoul Silva's turn. Mr. White returned in the next film, ''Film/{{Spectre}}''. Ultimately, subverted in that the real BigBad proved to be Ernst Stavro Blofeld and all the villains, including Mr. White, were Spectre muscle doing his dirty work. The final villain of the Craig era, ''Film/NoTimeToDie'''s Lyutsifer Safin, doesn't work for Spectre but wipes them out instead, out of [[YouKilledMyFather revenge]].
55* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
56** ''[[Film/TheAvengers2012 The Avengers]]'' has Comicbook/{{Loki}} and Chitauri as the main villains, with the ending revealing that Comicbook/{{Thanos}} was the true ManBehindTheMan who set everything in motion as part of a plot to claim the Infinity Stones. Thanos returns (this time in person) as the main threat of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', the third entry in the series. While [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron the second movie]] contains a continuation of the Infinity Stones subplot to some degree, it is Comicbook/{{Ultron}} who is the main villain, rather than Thanos or another of his underlings.
57** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'' has Ronan the Accuser as the main villain, but like Loki he is backed by Comicbook/{{Thanos}} before the former decides to [[TheStarscream rebel]] against him. The Guardians appears in the aforementioned ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' teaming up with the Avengers to face the Mad Titan himself. Prior to that the Guardians battle against [[spoiler:Ego the Living Planet, Peter's father,]] and the main villain in [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 their second movie]], who not only lacks any affiliation with Thanos or his underlings, but also doesn't feature the Infinity Stones subplot in any degree, unlike ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''.
58* The [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl first]] ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' movie had Hector Barbossa as the main antagonist, while Davy Jones becomes the prime villain for the [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest second]]. In a subversion, Barbossa becomes the SixthRanger in the [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd following film]], Jones himself is DemotedToDragon and Cutler Beckett (villain of the third movie) is the archetypal BigBad for the original trilogy. As a further subversion in the fourth and fifth movies Barbossa leads a seperate faction that is antagonistic to the heroes but is not the BigBad, and in both they get forced into EnemyMine alliances.
59* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
60** In the prequel trilogy, Darth Sidious is the ManBehindTheMan for Nute Gunray and Rune Haako during [[Film/ThePhantomMenace Episode I]]. In [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Episode III]], he establishes himself as the Galactic Emperor, wipes out the Jedi Order and reorganized TheRepublic into TheEmpire. In [[Film/AttackOfTheClones Episode II]], he had a minor role (even as Chancellor Palpatine), whereas Count Dooku was given more screen time and treatment as a BigBad, but in a subversion, Sidious was the one that pushed for the formation of Dooku's organization (the Confederacy), and intentionally placed Dooku as a scapegoat while he pulled the strings from the shadows. Furthermore, the threat of the Separatists prompted the development of the Clone Army, later known as the Imperial Stormtroopers.
61** The third film also had another interim villain in the form of General Grievous, who takes over as leader of the CIS from Dooku when the latter is killed. Grievous mostly exists to serve as an adversary until Palpatine is confronted at last.
62** For the [[Film/TheForceAwakens first]] [[Film/TheLastJedi two]] films of the Sequel Trilogy, the entire First Order end up serving as the new villains in the wake of the downfall of Palpatine's Empire. [[spoiler:In ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', Palpatine is ultimately revealed to have survived his apparent demise at the end of the previous trilogy and ends up taking command of the First Order. It's a bit downplayed, however, in that it's revealed he was behind their actions the entire time, letting Snoke and Kylo Ren serve as his {{Puppet King}}s.]]
63[[/folder]]
64
65[[folder:Literature]]
66* The ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' series takes this to some unusual extremes with the BigBad of ''every even-numbered instalment'' being a returning [[ArchEnemy Opal Koboi]], and various unrelated villains each serving as the BigBad for each odd-numbered book (except for the first book, where the BigBad, essentially, is [[VillainProtagonist Artemis]] himself).
67* ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' examples:
68** The Heir of Slytherin in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted when he ends up being Voldemort all along, albeit a piece of his soul working without the "real" Voldemort's knowledge.]]
69** [[spoiler:Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew]] in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'', the only book in which [[VillainOnLeave Voldemort does not appear]] and is only referenced as an off-page GreaterScopeVillain (although [[spoiler:Wormtail]]'s status as one of Voldemort's CoDragons makes this a downplayed example).
70** Dolores Umbridge in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', for most of the book before Voldemort and the Death Eaters return and render her unimportant by comparison. Notably, this is the ''only'' book in the franchise where TheHeavy for most of the book is ''not'' either Voldemort or TheDragon to Voldemort in some way (such as [[spoiler:Quirrel]], the Basilisk, [[spoiler:Wormtail]], Bartemeus Crouch Jr, or [[spoiler:Snape]]).
71* Done in ''Power of Three'', the third arc of ''Literature/WarriorCats''. The BigBad of the arc, [[spoiler:Sol the traveler]], leaves the lake about halfway through ''Long Shadows''. The role of main villain is then shifted to [[spoiler:Ashfur, in one of the biggest {{Wham Episode}}s of the series.]] This villain has a major effect on the heroes and even [[spoiler:causes Hollyleaf's FaceHeelTurn]], before being defeated and causing [[spoiler:the characters who didn't know of Ashfur's villain status to bring Sol back to the lake and try him for Ashfur's murder.]] Interestingly enough, the villain of ''Power of Three'' ended up being an Interim Villain himself, meant to carry the story (and introduce massive changes) while Tigerstar and Brokenstar gathered their power to rise up in ''Omen of the Stars''.
72* In Creator/StephenKing's Mercedes Triology; Brady Hartfield is the BigBad of [[Literature/MrMercedes the first]] and [[Literature/EndOfWatch third books]]. In [[Literature/FindersKeepers the second one]] however, he only makes a few appearances while he's (seemingly) in a vegetative state after getting his skull bashed in in the climax of the first book, and in his absence the protagonists deal with a new villain: Morris Bellamy.
73[[/folder]]
74
75[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
76* The strongest ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' example is perhaps the Anointed One in Season 2, who takes over for and tries to resurrect the Master, the previous season's BigBad, and is subsequently used to introduce Spike... who promptly kills him.
77** This happened fairly often: Mr. Trick was replaced by Faith and the Mayor, The Trio gave way to Dark Willow, Spike (Season 2) was eclipsed by Angelus, etc.
78* ''Series/ChouseishinGransazer'': The [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Bosquito]] is fought in a mini-arc that comes after the heroes' last battle with Logia and before their confrontation with the BigBad. The Bosquito itself doesn't leave that much of an impact, but its appearance does trigger a number of [[TheReveal plot revelations]] and developments.
79* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': Season 1 features Wilson Fisk as the main villain, with the Hand being first introduced as an associate gang of Fisk's. At the end of the season, Fisk is arrested and sent to prison. Season 2 focuses on the Punisher and the Hand, and the power vacuum that's opened up as a result of Fisk being arrested. Fisk even makes a brief two-episode arc where he takes a step towards rebuilding his criminal empire by using Frank to murder the head of a prison contraband gang who insulted him. He also begins investigating Matt after Matt threatens his relationship with Vanessa. Season 3 then returns to featuring Fisk as the main villain front and center, where we see that the events of his little Season 2 arc were him biding his time as he waited for his long-term manipulations of Ray Nadeem to run their course, so he could manipulate the FBI into letting him out of prison.
80* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
81** During Creator/RussellTDavies' tenure as showrunner, the Daleks were the main villains in the first and fourth series, while sharing and ultimately stealing the spotlight from the Cybermen in the second series. In the third, TheMaster takes over the limelight.
82** In the Eleventh Doctor's era the main villains were the Silence, except for Series 7, where instead the Great Intelligence was the BigBad for that season.
83* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'': Unlike the other Big Bads found on Season 3, [[ComicBook/TheJoker Jerome Valeska]] is the only one to not use the Tetch virus for his crime and appears right in the middle of the season after the GCPD finally arrest Jervis Tetch and curing the city of his virus but right before the Court of Owls use said virus from their own nefarious plans.
84* The Dogma Kingdom in ''Series/KamenRiderSuper1'' and Gorgom in ''Series/KamenRiderBlack'' are the only evil organizations in Showa-era ''Franchise/KamenRider'' not to have an explicit connection with the series BigBad, the Great Leader, who either directly led or was [[TheManBehindTheMan pulling the strings behind]] most of the evil organizations the Kamen Riders faced.
85** While the final arc of ''Series/KamenRiderW'' sets up the nebulous Foundation X to be the overarching villains of the Neo-Heisei era, the next season ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'' doesn't feature them at all and instead deals with threats wholly unrelated to them (a group of ancient homunculus and a renegage MadScientist). ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' sees Foundation X make a proper return as the benefactors to the Zodiarts.
86* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'': In some seasons the first BigBad's replacement turns out to be an Interim Villain, and the original comes back by the finale even though they were defeated earlier in the story.
87** ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'': Captain Mutiny.
88** ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'': Mandilok.
89** ''Series/PowerRangersZeo'': Prince Gasket (and Louie Kaboom, to a certain extent).
90** ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' has a mild example with Rita's father Master Vile. Though the BigBad Lord Zedd doesn't leave, Master Vile does usurp him as being in charge, due to being more evil and wiser. Master Vile leaves before the end of the season, allowing for Zedd to be back in charge.
91* The BBC version of ''Series/RobinHood'' had the original Sheriff of Nottingham apparently killed off part-way through the third series, and replaced (both as Sheriff and as [[TheHeavy the show's main villain]]) by a CanonForeigner named Isabella. Isabella was seemingly beaten in the penultimate episode, just in time for the original Sheriff to turn up as the head of [[GreaterScopeVillain Prince John]]'s army in the GrandFinale.
92* ''Series/StorageWars'': Early in Season 3, Dave is kept off the show by other business interests. Filling his role as antagonist is Jeff Jarred, whose hook is that he believes that auctioneer Dan shows favoritism towards the more established buyers.
93* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
94** Meg is this in Season 1, who is the daughter/henchwoman of the BigBad Yellow-eyed demon. She is [[spoiler:sent back to Hell in the Season Finale, which infuriates the Yellow-Eyed Demon.]]
95** Eve, the mother of all monsters, is set up to be the BigBad of Season 6, [[spoiler:only to be defeated rather quickly in an episode that reveals that Crowley and Castiel are the big bads of the season, as they are working together to defeat Raphael.]]
96* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'':
97** Tasks 8 and 26 of ''Series/GoGoSentaiBoukenger'' both feature threats that are not related to any of the season's four [[BigBadEnsemble Negative Syndicates]], instead being creatures linked to the Precious the team is after in the episodes.
98** The VillainOfTheWeek for episode 21 of ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' isn't an Action Commander or anyone else related to the Zangyack, but (as the episode is a ''Boukenger'' tribute) a ReturningBigBad from ''Boukenger'', Creator King Ryuuwon.
99* In Season 2 of ''Series/TwinPeaks'', [[BigBad BOB]] suffers a setback ([[spoiler:his host being discovered]]) that forces him into hiding. As the protagonists attempt to track him down, Wyndom Earle shows up to do the same while also committing a string of murders. The final confrontation with Earle also reintroduces BOB, [[spoiler:who [[EvilerThanThou takes Earle's soul]], [[VillainousRescue saving Annie]], but also [[TheBadGuyWins takes over Cooper's body]]]]. [[CutShort Then the show ended.]] Two-and-half-decades later, BOB is the main villain of ''[[{{Revival}} The Return]]'', more active than ever.
100[[/folder]]
101
102[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
103* The Valifornia PowerStable, at least from the perspective of champions Wrestling/IvelisseVelez and Mia Yim, were the interim antagonists of SHINE while Valkyrie got its act together following the loss of both its leaders and having to deal with the unexpected return of Jessicka Havok.
104[[/folder]]
105
106[[folder:Toys]]
107* The Bohrok swarms of ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}''. Before their introduction, [[BigBad Makuta]] had just been defeated by the heroes and disappears. Shortly after their story arc was finally wrapped up with the defeat of the Bohrok-Kal, Makuta returns to the spotlight. Although it was later confirmed via RetCon that Makuta was responsible for awakening the Bohrok, he did so to distract the Toa and thus buy himself some time to recover from his previous loss, thus directly [[InvokedTrope invoking]] this trope.
108[[/folder]]
109
110[[folder:Video Games]]
111* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'': In the first game {{Satan}} is the BigBad and the true manipulator behind all of the events. By the end of the game, [[spoiler:TheHero Gabriel Belmont becomes Dracula and serves as the interim villain of ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadowMirrorOfFate Mirror Of Fate]]''. In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow2'', Dracula performs a HeelFaceTurn]], and Satan returns as the main villain.
112* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
113** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'': Bern is the main antagonistic nation for most of the story, but the midgame has you fighting [[LesCollaborateurs a faction of Etruria that capitulated to Bern]], led by [[AristocratsAreEvil Roartz and Arcard]]. After the retaking of Etruria, Bern takes center stage as enemy again, although Roartz himself isn't dealt with until later, when fighting Bern's occupying forces in either Sacae or Ilia.
114** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'': Oliver, duke of Tanas, serves this role. Ashnard and Daein are the main enemies at the start and end of the game. The heroes seek an alliance with Begnion to give them the forces to defeat him, and their Empress only agrees to help if they take down Oliver, a corrupt senator and slave trader, for her.
115** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'': The Begnion Senate are the main enemies of Part 1, Part 3 (despite a few perspective flip chapters where you play as their reluctant allies, which are treated more as VillainShoes) and side with the ultimate BigBad of Part 4. Part 2, however, deals with a coup against Elincia in Crimea led by Duke Ludvek.
116** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'': The nation of Plegia, which [[ReligionOfEvil worships the Fell Dragon Grima]], is the main enemy for both the first and third acts of the game. In between the heroes deal with Valm, another continent's [[TheEmpire Empire]] led by Walhart the Conqueror, which invades their nation. In a twist, Walhart is also an enemy of Plegia, but this is only revealed after his defeat, and the heroes likely would've still opposed him even if they'd known.
117* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' had [[FallenHero Superman from the Injustice Earth]] as the BigBad, while its [[VideoGame/Injustice2 sequel]] has [[OmnicidalManiac Brainiac]]. The tie-comic that bridges the gap between the two games has [[GaiasVengeance Ra's Al Ghul]] and the League of Assassins as primary antagonists.
118* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
119** Vaati from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'', who serves as the BigBad in those games. Said games take place between Demise's defeat in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' and his reincarnation/successor Ganon's emergence in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. Vaati would later gets properly HijackedByGanon (who's reincarnated) in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures''.
120** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'': The eponymous mask is one in every way: In the context of the child timeline brought about by the events of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', the game takes place between Ganondorf's two major appearances in the timeline (''Ocarina of Time'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess''). In the context of the 3D games' release order, Majora's Mask is an Interim Villain because the 3D game released after its game (''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', placed in the adult timeline) has Ganondorf resurge after his defeat in ''Ocarina of Time''. Lastly, in the context of ''Zelda'' releases overall, Majora's Mask is sandwiched between Ganondorf's appearances in ''Ocarina of Time'' and his [[HijackedByGanon eventual]] resurrection in the linked story of both ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'' (placed in the downfall timeline).
121* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'': Osmund Saddler, who unlike other villains in the series does not have any connection to Umbrella. Albert Wesker returns as the BigBad for ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5''.
122* The first ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' game, ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'', dealt with Cackletta. The third one, ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'', dealt with Cackletta's AscendedDragon, Fawful. The second one dealt with... [[AlienInvasion the Shroobs]]?
123[[/folder]]
124
125[[folder:Western Animation]]
126* Season 1 of ''WesternAnimation/DotaDragonsBlood'' has BigBadEnsemble between [[JerkassGods Selemene]] and [[SealedEvilinACan Terrorblade]] [[spoiler:and [[TheChessmaster The Invoker]]]], but the fallout from season finale more or less forces them to fade to background, aside an occassional advancement of their plans, until opening episodes of season three, when things finally come to fruition [[spoiler:as The Invoker directly or indirectly gets both Selemene and Terrorblade killed, taking over as the BigBad]]. In meantime, the main villain of season two ends up being [[spoiler:Chancellor Kasshura a.k.a. the Void Dragon]], who is revealed as the GreaterScopeVillain of Mirana's backstory.
127* Daemon served as the BigBad for the final season of ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' until she was defeated, and Megabyte returned from being banished to the Web at the end of the previous season.
128* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'', Slade was the BigBad for the first two seasons, until his death at the end of the second. Brother Blood takes over as the BigBad for the third season, but he works like an ArcVillain and a FillerVillain (not a single mentioning or appearance other than his four episodes), so how is he included here? The H.I.V.E organization was already in existence in prior seasons, Slade himself returned in full on the fourth season, and Blood's defeat led to the H.I.V.E. Five striking out on their own as an independent team.
129* In ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'', the Trix are the main villains in the first season, and they're still major villains in seasons 2 and 3. They're absent in season 4, and the Wizards of the Black Circle take over their role as the primary enemies of the Winx. After they're beaten, the Trix make a return in season 5.
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