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Spelling/grammar fix(es) (characters both have similar names, the character in Brawl is named Galleom)
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** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'': World of Light starts with Kirby having to save the defeated playable cast and hundreds of spirits from Galeem. They fight spirits that range from Novice to Advanced to Ace to finally Legend, then fight the bosses like [[VideoGame/MonsterHunter Rathalos]] and [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee Giga Bowser]], then finally Galeem (of ''Brawl'' fame). [[spoiler:When Galeem is defeated, Dharkon takes his place, and the new world map is littered with even stronger Ace and Legend-level spirits and harder bosses like [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Ganon]], [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} Marx]] and [[Franchise/{{Castlevania}} Dracula]]. Then when ''he'''s defeated, the player is taken to a final map populated almost exclusively with Legend spirits, and if the player is on the path to the GoldenEnding, they fight a BossRush of all six standard bosses, and finally Galeem and Dharkon at the same time.]]
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** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'': World of Light starts with Kirby having to save the defeated playable cast and hundreds of spirits from Galeem. They fight spirits that range from Novice to Advanced to Ace to finally Legend, then fight the bosses like [[VideoGame/MonsterHunter Rathalos]] and [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee Giga Bowser]], then finally Galeem Galleom (of ''Brawl'' fame). [[spoiler:When Galeem is defeated, Dharkon takes his place, and the new world map is littered with even stronger Ace and Legend-level spirits and harder bosses like [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Ganon]], [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} Marx]] and [[Franchise/{{Castlevania}} Dracula]]. Then when ''he'''s defeated, the player is taken to a final map populated almost exclusively with Legend spirits, and if the player is on the path to the GoldenEnding, they fight a BossRush of all six standard bosses, and finally Galeem and Dharkon at the same time.]]
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** Played straight and justified in ''VideoGame/XCOM2''. In this scenario, the aliens averted this trope and steamrolled XCOM during the initial invasion, and have spent twenty years [[VichyEarth ruling Earth]] as the ADVENT Administration. To keep the humans in their [[GildedCage shining city centers]] pacified, the aliens use HalfHumanHybrid peacekeeper soldiers and robotic units more than their exotic, inhuman forces. It's only after months of XCOM victories that ADVENT starts deploying their most horrifying and destructive units, like [[ExplosiveBreeder Chryssalids]], [[HeavilyArmoredMook Andromedons]] and [[WalkingTank Sectopods]].
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** Played straight and justified in ''VideoGame/XCOM2''. In this scenario, AlternateTimeline, the aliens averted this trope and steamrolled XCOM during the initial invasion, and have spent twenty years [[VichyEarth ruling Earth]] as the ADVENT Administration. To keep the humans in their [[GildedCage shining city centers]] pacified, the aliens use HalfHumanHybrid peacekeeper soldiers and robotic units more than their exotic, inhuman forces. It's only after months of XCOM victories that ADVENT starts deploying their most horrifying and destructive units, like [[ExplosiveBreeder Chryssalids]], [[HeavilyArmoredMook Andromedons]] and [[WalkingTank Sectopods]].
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* [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles ''Xenoblade'']] Franchise:
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* [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles ''Xenoblade'']] Franchise:''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'':
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Beowulf wasn't written in English. I would frankly prefer to remove the entire language qualifier, since I believe that Beowulf is about as old as writing, but I presume that it was put in on purpose and I would hate to start a battle over it.
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This trope has ancient roots. Possibly the earliest example, at least in the English language, is the OlderThanPrint epic ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}''. It just makes good sense that as our heroes fight the forces of evil, [[TaughtByExperience they should get better at fighting the forces of evil]]. So as the story progresses, the fights should get easier and easier. Of course, having an overly easy fight is just [[RuleOfDrama bad drama]], so you have to consistently increase the threat the heroes face. This results in the Sorting Algorithm of Evil. The first villain you meet is the weakest, and the last is the strongest. As the heroes get strong enough to defeat their current enemy, a new enemy will emerge that forces them to reach another skill level. It would be an AntiClimax if the hero defeated the Baddest Ass and spent the remaining time contending with not-quite-as-Bad Asses.
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This trope has ancient roots. Possibly the earliest example, at least example available in the English language, language is the OlderThanPrint epic ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}''. It just makes good sense that as our heroes fight the forces of evil, [[TaughtByExperience they should get better at fighting the forces of evil]]. So as the story progresses, the fights should get easier and easier. Of course, having an overly easy fight is just [[RuleOfDrama bad drama]], so you have to consistently increase the threat the heroes face. This results in the Sorting Algorithm of Evil. The first villain you meet is the weakest, and the last is the strongest. As the heroes get strong enough to defeat their current enemy, a new enemy will emerge that forces them to reach another skill level. It would be an AntiClimax if the hero defeated the Baddest Ass and spent the remaining time contending with not-quite-as-Bad Asses.
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* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'', where each progressive seasons' BigBad would actually be ''less'' powerful than the previous one (along with having smaller plots and fewer episodes dedicated to their plot arcs). Season 1's BigBad was Ben's ArchEnemy, the most feared alien in the galaxy, bent on galactic conquest, who punches mountains apart and bodyslams buildings hard enough to make them explode. The following seasons featured as Big Bads an 11-year-old who shared the hero's superpowers and whose sole goal was getting revenge on the hero, an alien ghost who "only" wanted to TakeOverTheWorld, and finally a guy in PoweredArmor who only appeared in one episode (albeit a 2-part, 1 hour one), who had to assemble a team of previous secondary villains to do all his fighting for him, and whose big plan was to steal a AppliedPhlebotinum battery that allowed his power armor to shoot EyeBeams.
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* ''Franchise/Ben10''
** Zig-Zagged, but mostly Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'', where each progressive seasons' BigBad would actually be ''less'' powerful than the previous one (along with having smaller plots and fewer episodes dedicated to their plot arcs). Season 1's BigBad was Ben's ArchEnemy, the most feared alien in the galaxy, bent on galactic conquest, who punches mountains apart and bodyslams buildings hard enough to make them explode. The following seasons featured as Big Bads an 11-year-old who shared the hero's superpowers and whose sole goal was getting revenge on the hero, an alien ghost who "only" wanted to TakeOverTheWorld, and finally a guy in PoweredArmor who only appeared in one episode (albeit a 2-part, 1 hour one), who had to assemble a team of previous secondary villains to do all his fighting for him, and whose big plan was to steal a AppliedPhlebotinum battery that allowed his power armor to shoot EyeBeams. However, the battery is stated to be powerful enough to blow up a continent, so for the short time he has it, he does have the most raw power of the four(He just doesn't keep it for very long).
** Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce''. The first main threat are the Highbreed, a species of seemingly AlwaysChaoticEvil [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Space Nazis]]. Each Highbreed individually is as strong or stronger than most of Ben's heavy-hitting aliens, and their grand plan is to eradicate all life in the universe other than themselves in a [[spoiler: SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum]]. The second and final threat, Vilgax is supposedly more powerful than before and has gained a few new tricks from conquering 10 planets, but feels like he's gone through serious VillainDecay. He is only trying to conquer worlds, has no grand master plan to take over the universe. Vilgax's physical strength is only comparable to a single highbreed, and the last threat was a whole army of them.
** Played mostly straight in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien''. The first main villain is Aggregor, a brilliant tactician who is always one step ahead of the heroes. He eventually gains the [[OneWingedAngel combined power of five powerful aliens from another galaxy]], becomes stronger than most of Ben's ultimate forms, and begins a plan to ascend to godhood. The second main villain is Ultimate Kevin, one of the main heroes turned into a [[FaceMonsterTurn monster of incredible power]] to stop aggregor after he crossed the GodzillaThreshold. While the scope of Ultimate Kevin's plans are way lower than Aggregor's, his raw power is far superior. Then, the final main villains are Dagon, an EldritchAbomination of unimaginable power that defeats Ultimate Way Big easily, and [[spoiler: Vilgax again, who becomes TheStarscream DragonAscendant to Dagon and [[HijackingCthulhu steals the]] [[HijackedByGanon power of Dagon]] [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu for himself]].]]
** Zig-Zagged in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse''. The first villain, Khyber, is decently strong with a pet who can turn into the natural predators of many of Ben's aliens. The second villain, Malware, is far more threatening, and becomes powerful enough to destroy planets and defeat Way Big with ease. After that come the Incurseans, which are reasonably strong but not even comparable to Khyber's Pet in terms of physical danger. However, they do run a massive interstellar empire, and control an army of evil Way Bigs. After that comes Albedo with the Ultimatrix, which is more powerful than Khyber, his pet, and the incurseans physically, but weaker than the Way Bads and Malware, and only wants to regain his true form and take [[WorldsSmartestMan Azmuth]]'s brain. Then, there is Vilgax and his [[LegionOfDoom army of alternate bens.]] Vilgax is just normal Vilgax, and these Bens don't use any of Ben's strongest aliens. However, Vilgax's true goal here is to destroy the entire multiverse to rule the one world without an omnitrix-wielder, which is definitely a step up from every past villain. [[spoiler: And he succeeds. Until he doesn't.]] After him come the rooters, the weakest and least threatening villains in the series. Then there is Mad Ben, one of the Bens from Vilgax's army, now taking over as the main threat. Individually, he shows more power than he did previously(Actually using Ben's more powerful aliens). However, his threat level and power don't nearly compare to the previous villains. Finally, there is Maltruant, who shows cosmic tier power and time manipulation, and wants to remake the universe in his own image. He has clearly comparable power to Malware, and his plan is almost as high-stakes as Vilgax, so he is probably on average the most threatening villain in the series.
** Zig-Zagged, but mostly Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'', where each progressive seasons' BigBad would actually be ''less'' powerful than the previous one (along with having smaller plots and fewer episodes dedicated to their plot arcs). Season 1's BigBad was Ben's ArchEnemy, the most feared alien in the galaxy, bent on galactic conquest, who punches mountains apart and bodyslams buildings hard enough to make them explode. The following seasons featured as Big Bads an 11-year-old who shared the hero's superpowers and whose sole goal was getting revenge on the hero, an alien ghost who "only" wanted to TakeOverTheWorld, and finally a guy in PoweredArmor who only appeared in one episode (albeit a 2-part, 1 hour one), who had to assemble a team of previous secondary villains to do all his fighting for him, and whose big plan was to steal a AppliedPhlebotinum battery that allowed his power armor to shoot EyeBeams. However, the battery is stated to be powerful enough to blow up a continent, so for the short time he has it, he does have the most raw power of the four(He just doesn't keep it for very long).
** Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce''. The first main threat are the Highbreed, a species of seemingly AlwaysChaoticEvil [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Space Nazis]]. Each Highbreed individually is as strong or stronger than most of Ben's heavy-hitting aliens, and their grand plan is to eradicate all life in the universe other than themselves in a [[spoiler: SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum]]. The second and final threat, Vilgax is supposedly more powerful than before and has gained a few new tricks from conquering 10 planets, but feels like he's gone through serious VillainDecay. He is only trying to conquer worlds, has no grand master plan to take over the universe. Vilgax's physical strength is only comparable to a single highbreed, and the last threat was a whole army of them.
** Played mostly straight in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien''. The first main villain is Aggregor, a brilliant tactician who is always one step ahead of the heroes. He eventually gains the [[OneWingedAngel combined power of five powerful aliens from another galaxy]], becomes stronger than most of Ben's ultimate forms, and begins a plan to ascend to godhood. The second main villain is Ultimate Kevin, one of the main heroes turned into a [[FaceMonsterTurn monster of incredible power]] to stop aggregor after he crossed the GodzillaThreshold. While the scope of Ultimate Kevin's plans are way lower than Aggregor's, his raw power is far superior. Then, the final main villains are Dagon, an EldritchAbomination of unimaginable power that defeats Ultimate Way Big easily, and [[spoiler: Vilgax again, who becomes TheStarscream DragonAscendant to Dagon and [[HijackingCthulhu steals the]] [[HijackedByGanon power of Dagon]] [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu for himself]].]]
** Zig-Zagged in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse''. The first villain, Khyber, is decently strong with a pet who can turn into the natural predators of many of Ben's aliens. The second villain, Malware, is far more threatening, and becomes powerful enough to destroy planets and defeat Way Big with ease. After that come the Incurseans, which are reasonably strong but not even comparable to Khyber's Pet in terms of physical danger. However, they do run a massive interstellar empire, and control an army of evil Way Bigs. After that comes Albedo with the Ultimatrix, which is more powerful than Khyber, his pet, and the incurseans physically, but weaker than the Way Bads and Malware, and only wants to regain his true form and take [[WorldsSmartestMan Azmuth]]'s brain. Then, there is Vilgax and his [[LegionOfDoom army of alternate bens.]] Vilgax is just normal Vilgax, and these Bens don't use any of Ben's strongest aliens. However, Vilgax's true goal here is to destroy the entire multiverse to rule the one world without an omnitrix-wielder, which is definitely a step up from every past villain. [[spoiler: And he succeeds. Until he doesn't.]] After him come the rooters, the weakest and least threatening villains in the series. Then there is Mad Ben, one of the Bens from Vilgax's army, now taking over as the main threat. Individually, he shows more power than he did previously(Actually using Ben's more powerful aliens). However, his threat level and power don't nearly compare to the previous villains. Finally, there is Maltruant, who shows cosmic tier power and time manipulation, and wants to remake the universe in his own image. He has clearly comparable power to Malware, and his plan is almost as high-stakes as Vilgax, so he is probably on average the most threatening villain in the series.
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** The [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda first film]] has [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil Tai Lung]], Master Shifu's former disciple and a OneManArmy capable of plowing through a few dozen rhinos, the Furious Five, ''and'' Shifu himself with little effort. But he is still only one guy and his focus is solely on the Dragon Scroll, making him a complete non-issue to anyone outside the Valley of Peace (at least in the short term). This makes him the perfect StarterVillain, but he pales quite a bit compared to the following antagonists.
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** The [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1 first film]] has [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil Tai Lung]], Master Shifu's former disciple and a OneManArmy capable of plowing through a few dozen rhinos, the Furious Five, ''and'' Shifu himself with little effort. But he is still only one guy and his focus is solely on the Dragon Scroll, making him a complete non-issue to anyone outside the Valley of Peace (at least in the short term). This makes him the perfect StarterVillain, but he pales quite a bit compared to the following antagonists.
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[[folder:Web Original]]
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[[folder:Web Original]]Originals]]
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* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' both uses and ultimately subverts this with its seasonal {{Big Bad}}s
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* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' both uses and ultimately subverts this with its seasonal {{Big Bad}}s
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* The [[LawfulEvil Guild of Calamitous Intent]] of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' fame. Enrolled villains (and protagonists alike) are ranked in order of their threat level; a low-ranking villain such as The Monarch is a good fit for a wash-up scientist like Doctor Venture, while a full-fledged superhero such as Captain Sunshine needs an equally sinister antagonist to match him. Villains and protagonists can increase (or decrease) in rank if their skills improve (or degenerate). And it's all good for keeping the bureaucracy happy, and making sure there's no (well... fewer...) outright murders of one or the other.
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* The [[LawfulEvil Guild of Calamitous Intent]] of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' fame. Enrolled villains (and protagonists alike) are ranked in order of their threat level; a low-ranking villain such as The Monarch is a good fit for a wash-up scientist like Doctor Venture, while a full-fledged superhero such as Captain Sunshine needs an equally sinister antagonist to match him. Villains and protagonists can increase (or decrease) in rank if their skills improve (or degenerate). And it's all good for keeping the bureaucracy happy, and making sure there's no (well... fewer...) outright murders of one or the other.
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Misplaced, moving to the correct tab
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Another downside of this trope is viewers who get into a show later may find early villains lame by comparison when they go back to catch up -- "pshaw -- we're supposed to be worried about this guy? [[SuperWeight He can't even]] blow up a [[SlidingScaleOfVillainThreat galaxy]]!"
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Another downside of this trope is viewers who get into a show later may find early villains lame by comparison when they go back to catch up -- "pshaw -- we're supposed to be worried about this guy? [[SuperWeight [[JustForFun/SuperWeight He can't even]] blow up a [[SlidingScaleOfVillainThreat galaxy]]!"
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* ''VideoGame/FZero GX'' plays this straight, as Captain Falcon has to deal with various antagonists during the game's Story Mode, each one eviler than the last:
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* ''VideoGame/FZero GX'' ''VideoGame/FZeroGX'' plays this straight, as Captain Falcon has to deal with various antagonists during the game's Story Mode, each one eviler than the last:
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When this happens involving entire [[AlwaysChaoticEvil breeds/species of villains]], it's changing the VillainPedigree. If it's because various villains were sealed away it's SealedCastInAMultipack. If a particularly powerful villain remains on screen for too long and [[CantCatchUp can't keep up]], compare MonsterThreatExpiration. If one of the weak, foolish villains encountered early turns out to have been faking it, they might be a {{Not So Harmless Villain}} using ObfuscatingStupidity to camouflage their true sorting order.
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When this happens involving entire [[AlwaysChaoticEvil breeds/species of villains]], it's changing the VillainPedigree. If it's because various villains were sealed away it's SealedCastInAMultipack. If a particularly powerful villain remains on screen for too long and [[CantCatchUp can't keep up]], compare MonsterThreatExpiration. If one of the weak, foolish villains encountered early turns out to have been faking it, they might be a {{Not So Harmless Villain}} using ObfuscatingStupidity to camouflage their true sorting order.
order. If a villain starts out low and rapidly climbs higher, that's probably a SnowballingThreat.
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* ''Literature/TheBeginningAfterTheEnd'' mostly plays this straight. While there are [[FinalBossPreview more powerful villains who appear ahead of time]], in terms of the enemies whom Arthur ends up fighting it starts off with Vritra-backed cultists and mana beasts during the attack on Xyrus Academy. Then once the WarArc begins, Arthur begins fighting Retainers, Vritra-blooded individuals who are able to give even the Lances TheWorfEffect. To say nothing of the Scythes, the actual EvilCounterpart[=s=] to the Lances and the strongest Vritra-blooded mages who are able to participate in the war. However, Arthur does not actually fight any of the Scythes [[spoiler:until the end of the war, and even then he barely survives the encounter. Following Arthur RePower[=ing=] himself in his time in the Relictombs and [[CameBackStrong Coming Back Strong]], the tables have turned and he is able to easily defeat Scythes. In turn, this coincides with the introduction of even stronger enemies as the Asuras themselves, not just the Vritra Clan, turn out to be the true antagonists. Case in point, Arthur ends up going against an Asuran warrior who in spite of being [[ThoseWereOnlyTheirScouts a boy by Asuran standards]] was able to overpower the remaining Lances. Then he manages to slaughter a squad of Wraiths, who are Vritra-blooded Asura-killers stronger than the Scythes and viewed as semi-mythical bogeymen by the Alacryans. Following that, Arthur returns to Alacrya in order to take down the Sovereigns, the full-blooded members of the Vritra Clan, as well as the Legacy, a PersonOfMassDestruction whose complete mastery over mana makes her an Asura-killing weapon]].
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* Parodied in ''VideoGame/EarthBound''. During one part of the game, you will need to defeat five moles, each of whom claims to be the third strongest of the moles.
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* Parodied in ''VideoGame/EarthBound''.''VideoGame/EarthBound1994''. During one part of the game, you will need to defeat five moles, each of whom claims to be the third strongest of the moles.
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** Season 6 plays with the algorithm. The main villain of the finale is Queen Chrysalis again, but this time, not only does she manage to kidnap most of the heroes and replace them with changeling impersonators before anyone realizes something's wrong, but the heroes that are left are forced to venture into the Changeling Hive, where only changeling magic works. Her plan only falls apart because [[spoiler: Starlight Glimmer]], who she didn't know about, was out of town when the swap occured and not only caught on to the swap, but managed to gather a handful of other people who Chrysalis didn't know to replace, and even then it's a very NearVillainVictory.
** Season 7 has NoAntagonist for most of the season, but finale brings in the Pony of Shadows, a threat that required the [[PrecursorHeroes Pillars of Old Equestria]] to seal themselves away with it in order to contain it. However, it ends up being an aversion, as the Pony of Shadows ends up being weakened from its long imprisonment, and most of the conflict arround it revolves arround whether [[spoiler: it can be redeemed.]]
** Season 7 has NoAntagonist for most of the season, but finale brings in the Pony of Shadows, a threat that required the [[PrecursorHeroes Pillars of Old Equestria]] to seal themselves away with it in order to contain it. However, it ends up being an aversion, as the Pony of Shadows ends up being weakened from its long imprisonment, and most of the conflict arround it revolves arround whether [[spoiler: it can be redeemed.]]
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* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' manages to play-straight, avert, ''sub''vert, and then justify then justify this trope. Confused? Just keep reading.
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* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' manages to play-straight, avert, ''sub''vert, and then justify then justify this trope. Confused? Just keep reading.
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There are several ways to justify this; due to MonsterThreatExpiration, the current villain usually [[VillainForgotToLevelGrind Forgot To Level Grind]] while the heroes are out collecting TwentyBearAsses and are [[TrainingMontage Gonna Fly Now]] thereby outclassing him. This at least provides an in-story explanation for the {{Lamarck|WasRight}}ian evolution of evil from one bad guy to the next. In some cases the BigBad the heroes defeated last time was actually a mere member of a powerful organization. The others can show up to avenge their fallen comrade, so now we have the previous big bad times two or more. One of the more realistic possibilities, albeit one that's hard to justify in many stories, is a tournament structure, where the opponents become more formidable the closer the heroes get to the championship. In a series centering around military technology this can be explained by technological progress. The heroes will get new weapons, strategies, and better technology, but so will the enemy. This can apply not just to technology, but also knowledge: if a hero has a rogue's gallery of foes they fight constantly, and a surprise new OutsideContextProblem enters the mix later in the series, they'll be more difficult to handle due to unfamiliarity with how they work. In some cases, particularly the {{Shonen}} genre, it could be that an earlier BigBad who presented a powerful threat is now dead and can no longer grow anymore in power and by the time the heroes face the latest BigBad, the new villain (and subsequently the heroes themselves) will have had that much more time to become stronger that the previous villain. Another example would be that the Big Bad has been defeated but lesser villains are forced to fill the power vacuum by becoming even more evil.
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There are several ways to justify this; due to MonsterThreatExpiration, the current villain usually [[VillainForgotToLevelGrind Forgot To Level Grind]] while the heroes are out collecting TwentyBearAsses and are [[TrainingMontage Gonna Fly Now]] thereby outclassing him. This at least provides an in-story explanation for the {{Lamarck|WasRight}}ian evolution of evil from one bad guy to the next. In some cases the BigBad the heroes defeated last time was actually a mere member of a powerful organization. The others can show up to avenge their fallen comrade, so now we have the previous big bad times two or more. One of the more realistic possibilities, albeit one that's hard to justify in many stories, is a tournament structure, where the opponents become more formidable the closer the heroes get to the championship. In a series centering around military technology this can be explained by technological progress. The heroes will get new weapons, strategies, and better technology, but so will the enemy. This can apply not just to technology, but also knowledge: if a hero has a rogue's gallery RoguesGallery of foes they fight constantly, and a surprise new OutsideContextProblem enters the mix later in the series, they'll be more difficult to handle due to unfamiliarity with how they work. In some cases, particularly the {{Shonen}} genre, it could be that an earlier BigBad who presented a powerful threat is now dead and can no longer grow anymore in power and by the time the heroes face the latest BigBad, the new villain (and subsequently the heroes themselves) will have had that much more time to become stronger that the previous villain. Another example would be that the Big Bad has been defeated but lesser villains are forced to fill the power vacuum by becoming even more evil.
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* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': Actively sought out by Dwarf Slayers, dwarfs who committed some unforgivable offense (at least, unforgivable by dwarf law) and atone by finding the biggest, ugliest, meanest monster they can find (something Warhammer has no shortage of) and getting into a MutualKill with it. The problem is that dwarfs are stubborn little bastards and more often than not fail at the "mutual" part, and so they move on to the next biggest monster (since they ''also'' consider failing to get themselves killed a further act to atone for), hence the presence of Trollslayers, Giantslayers, Dragonslayers, Daemonslayers, etc. If after all that they ''still'' haven't succeeded, they end up going north into the Chaos Wastes, which usually does the trick. Usually.
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dewicking Film.Star Wars
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* ''Film/StarWars'': [[FacelessGoons Stormtroopers]] board the ''Tantive IV'' in the beginning of ''Film/ANewHope'' and several of them [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy promptly get gunned down]]. Then, [[TheDragon Darth Vader]] enters and lets everyone know who is in charge. It's not until [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack the sequel]] that we are introduced to [[BigBad Emperor Palpatine]], [[EvilOverlord leader of the Galactic Empire]].
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* ''Film/StarWars'': ''Franchise/StarWars'': [[FacelessGoons Stormtroopers]] board the ''Tantive IV'' in the beginning of ''Film/ANewHope'' and several of them [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy promptly get gunned down]]. Then, [[TheDragon Darth Vader]] enters and lets everyone know who is in charge. It's not until [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack the sequel]] that we are introduced to [[BigBad Emperor Palpatine]], [[EvilOverlord leader of the Galactic Empire]].
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** ''Series/KamenRiderGeats'' has [[BigBadEnsemble two major antagonist factions]]: the Jyamato, who are the standard ''Kamen Rider'' monsters for this series, and the Desire Grand Prix, the organization that sets up the fights with Jyamato for the sake of the DeadlyGame it shares its name with. Both of them generally follow the rule, even though they generally go back and forth in importance. The Jyamato are constantly evolving, not only growing stronger but ''smarter'' as well. Meanwhile, the DGP at first is content to sit on the sidelines, and the worst the protagonists have to deal with is backstabbing teammates. However, as the game starts going OffTheRails, the DGP staff start looking to eliminate the protagonists to get the game back on track, starting with bringing in their own Kamen Rider PunkJack. Once it doesn't look like he'll be able to do the job however, the Game Master is revealed to have his own unique Driver, which lets him transform into the much more powerful Kamen Rider Glare. Beyond him, his boss and game producer Niramu also has his own version of the Driver that lets him become the even more powerful Kamen Rider Gazer [[spoiler: and ''his'' boss Suel can transform into the even more powerful Suel Gazer]].
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* ''LightNovel/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'' is a deliberate aversion of this. The main villain, [[spoiler:the White Queen]], is active in the very first volume and in all subsequent ones. [[spoiler:She]] is always the ManBehindTheMan to the human villains of each volume, who also don't follow a linear progression of power. The reason why [[TheHero Kyousuke]] doesn't get immediately [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]], despite this trope being subverted, is because [[spoiler:the White Queen is in love with him and deliberately gives him opportunities to win]].
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* ''LightNovel/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'' ''Literature/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'' is a deliberate aversion of this. The main villain, [[spoiler:the White Queen]], is active in the very first volume and in all subsequent ones. [[spoiler:She]] is always the ManBehindTheMan to the human villains of each volume, who also don't follow a linear progression of power. The reason why [[TheHero Kyousuke]] doesn't get immediately [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]], despite this trope being subverted, is because [[spoiler:the White Queen is in love with him and deliberately gives him opportunities to win]].
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Rewritten to remove trope misuse and clarify that the sorting algorithm only really applies to the first three volumes.
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* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' has one. Season 1 had Roman Torchwick a suave thief and mugger, that turned out to be working for another villain who showed up in Season 2, Cinder Fall and her underlings, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black, the two first characters to [[spoiler: actually kill someone,]] and also Neo, Roman's new assistant who was about to do the same. Season 3, with the series being hit hard by CerebusSyndrome, all villains get an upgrade in murderous intent, killing [[spoiler: Pyrrha and Penny (who's a robot, so her death isn't necessarily permanent)]] through the season and also reintroduces Adam Taurus from Blake's prologue trailer, a violent terrorist with an obsession with Blake. It all culminates in [[spoiler:Salem, some kind of HumanoidAbomination who can control the Grimm and has plans that encompass the entire world. All other villains in the series, Cinder and Adam included, ultimately answer to her.]]
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* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' has one. Season 1 had Roman Torchwick ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': The first three volumes of the show sees TheHeavy enacting a suave thief and mugger, that turned out to be working YouCantThwartStageOne plan for another the BigBad. The first villain introduced is the StarterVillain who showed up in Season 2, Cinder Fall introduces the audience to the setting and her underlings, Emerald Sustrai becomes the window through which the heroes become involved in the villainous plot. Volume 2 sees his boss, TheHeavy, who is briefly seen but not identified in the pilot episode, take direct control of the villainous plan, as the threat level for the heroes escalates when they investigate the FantasticTerrorists being used as {{mooks}}. The villainous plan reaches its final stages in Volume 3 with a full-blown invasion and Mercury Black, several character deaths; the two first characters to [[spoiler: actually kill someone,]] and also Neo, Roman's new assistant who was about to do the same. Season 3, volumes closes with the series being hit hard by CerebusSyndrome, all formal introduction of the BigBad declaring this was just the first move in a larger, more horrific plan; from this point on the villains get an upgrade in murderous intent, killing [[spoiler: Pyrrha and Penny (who's a robot, so her death isn't necessarily permanent)]] through that are faced depend mostly on exactly what the season and also reintroduces Adam Taurus from Blake's prologue trailer, a violent terrorist BigBad is trying to achieve at any given stage. [[spoiler:The BigBad is revealed to be the Female Narrator that introduces the pilot episode with an obsession with Blake. It all culminates in [[spoiler:Salem, some kind hints of HumanoidAbomination who can control the Grimm and has plans that encompass the entire world. All other villains in the series, Cinder and Adam included, ultimately answer darker plot line to her.come.]]
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Examples are work-specific. General trends go in the description.
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* Every [[ClassAndLevelSystem class and level based]] TabletopGame ever, with ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' being the TropeMaker. For that matter, any TabletopGame that has experience points and character advancement ever. As the [=PCs=] get more powerful, they have to battle more and more powerful enemies.
** This varies from game to game, but the standard Dungeons and Dragons setting doesn't really have a BigBad per se. Instead the characters are assumed to be adventurers going on adventure after adventure with no real connection between them, and it makes sense they choose adventures that match their abilities. Being a Tabletop RPG each group is free to play this trope straight, subvert it, avert it, or whatever they choose.
* The Necrons in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' do this in reaction to strong attacks. If the scouting parties the Necrons send first fail, they send another more powerful one, than another and another till all resistance is dead. Since the Necrons are a race of undead machines, and they are the most advanced in the galaxy, they have yet to meet resistance that would warrant awaking their more powerful weapons of war.
** This varies from game to game, but the standard Dungeons and Dragons setting doesn't really have a BigBad per se. Instead the characters are assumed to be adventurers going on adventure after adventure with no real connection between them, and it makes sense they choose adventures that match their abilities. Being a Tabletop RPG each group is free to play this trope straight, subvert it, avert it, or whatever they choose.
* The Necrons in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' do this in reaction to strong attacks. If the scouting parties the Necrons send first fail, they send another more powerful one, than another and another till all resistance is dead. Since the Necrons are a race of undead machines, and they are the most advanced in the galaxy, they have yet to meet resistance that would warrant awaking their more powerful weapons of war.
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* Every [[ClassAndLevelSystem class and level based]] TabletopGame ever, with ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' being the TropeMaker. For that matter, any TabletopGame that has experience points and character advancement ever. As the [=PCs=] get more powerful, they have to battle more and more powerful enemies.
**''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': This varies from game to game, but the standard Dungeons and Dragons setting doesn't really have a BigBad per se. Instead Instead, the characters are assumed to be adventurers going on adventure after adventure with no real connection between them, and it makes sense they choose adventures that match their abilities. Being a Tabletop RPG each group is free abilities.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': The ''Giantslayer'' adventure path gradually ratchets up the threat level posed by the evil humanoids that the party fights. The adventure starts off by pitting the players against orcs, then moves on toplay this trope straight, subvert it, avert it, or whatever they choose.
ogres and hill giants, then assorted evil giant-kin and stone giants. The next major step has the players raid a frost giant war-camp, followed by an assault against a fire giant fortress. The final installment heads into the BigBad's floating fortress, where the party faces his cloud and taiga giant minions before the final showdown.
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': The Necronsin ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' do this in reaction to strong attacks. If the scouting parties the Necrons send first fail, they send another more powerful one, than another and another till all resistance is dead. Since the Necrons are a race of undead machines, and they are the most advanced in the galaxy, they have yet to meet resistance that would warrant awaking their more powerful weapons of war.
**
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': The ''Giantslayer'' adventure path gradually ratchets up the threat level posed by the evil humanoids that the party fights. The adventure starts off by pitting the players against orcs, then moves on to
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': The Necrons
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** In ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'', each group of major villains are stronger than the last. The first group were "The five fingers of poison" that although strong were not a match for Dai-shi in Jarrod's body, then the Overlords Jellica and Carnisoar appeared who were stronger than Dai-shi initially, then the Overlord Grizzaka appeared who He was stronger than the previous Overlords, after Grizzaka's defeat the Ghost Generals appeared who were much stronger than Grizzaka, and [[spoiler: in the final episode Dai-Shi appears in his original body who is the most powerful villain of the season.]]
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** In ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'', each group of major villains are stronger than the last. The first group were "The five fingers of poison" that although strong were not a match for Dai-shi in Jarrod's body, then the Overlords Jellica and Carnisoar appeared who were stronger than Dai-shi initially, then the Overlord Grizzaka appeared who He was stronger than the previous Overlords, after Grizzaka's defeat the Ghost Phantom Beast Generals appeared who were much stronger than Grizzaka, and [[spoiler: in the final episode Dai-Shi appears in his original body who is the most powerful villain of the season.]]
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** Justified somewhat in ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'' where the BigBad is a recently released [[SealedEvilInACan sealed evil]] who has lost much of his power, and thus grows stronger throughout the season much as the heroes do.
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** Justified somewhat in ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'' where the BigBad is a recently released [[SealedEvilInACan sealed evil]] who has lost much In ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'', each group of his power, and thus grows major villains are stronger throughout than the season last. The first group were "The five fingers of poison" that although strong were not a match for Dai-shi in Jarrod's body, then the Overlords Jellica and Carnisoar appeared who were stronger than Dai-shi initially, then the Overlord Grizzaka appeared who He was stronger than the previous Overlords, after Grizzaka's defeat the Ghost Generals appeared who were much as stronger than Grizzaka, and [[spoiler: in the heroes do. final episode Dai-Shi appears in his original body who is the most powerful villain of the season.]]
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* ''Fanfic/IWokeUpAsADungeonNowWhat'' has this on both sides of the dungeon/adventurer conflict.
** It is a well-known rule that a dungeon's monsters and other defenses rise in effectiveness every five levels. The first five levels will always be weak monsters that are only a real challenge for newbies, the next five levels will be moderately more dangerous, and so on. Taylor has yet to grow sufficient levels to see this effect herself, but she suspects that this is due to dungeons getting an upkeep rebate on lower floors, so that they cannot afford to put high-level monsters on their top floors.
** Conversely, one of the quirks of the drop system is that the higher a hero's level relative to the monsters he's fighting, the lower the chance of getting drops. A high-level adventurer like Ulric could slaughter everything on Taylor's first floor and get nothing, while if a complete newbie like Horzel managed the feat he'd be flush with bug bits.
** It is a well-known rule that a dungeon's monsters and other defenses rise in effectiveness every five levels. The first five levels will always be weak monsters that are only a real challenge for newbies, the next five levels will be moderately more dangerous, and so on. Taylor has yet to grow sufficient levels to see this effect herself, but she suspects that this is due to dungeons getting an upkeep rebate on lower floors, so that they cannot afford to put high-level monsters on their top floors.
** Conversely, one of the quirks of the drop system is that the higher a hero's level relative to the monsters he's fighting, the lower the chance of getting drops. A high-level adventurer like Ulric could slaughter everything on Taylor's first floor and get nothing, while if a complete newbie like Horzel managed the feat he'd be flush with bug bits.
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See also SlidingScaleOfVillainThreat, which breaks down the scales of villainy. Contrast EvilEvolves. Compare AlwaysABiggerFish, LensmanArmsRace, SoLastSeason, SequelEscalation, RuleOfEscalatingThreat.
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See also SlidingScaleOfVillainThreat, which breaks down the scales of villainy. Contrast EvilEvolves. Compare AlwaysABiggerFish, LensmanArmsRace, SoLastSeason, SequelEscalation, RuleOfEscalatingThreat.
RuleOfEscalatingThreat, RankScalesWithAsskicking.
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Rank Scales With Asskicking is the new name.
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A problem comes up if a long-running show goes [[PostScriptSeason past its]] first GrandFinale. We may believe that the ultimate EvilOverlord is enough of a tactical dunce to think that sending his henchmen out in ascending order was a valid strategy. But why should the ''new'', unrelated, BigBad happen to be even stronger? Sometimes the {{Big Bad}}s might form a string of [[TheManBehindTheMan Men Behind The Men]], making this structure more sensible. Although this leads to new FridgeLogic issues: why doesn't the Man Most Behind use the [[AuthorityGrantsAsskicking unimaginable power]] of his position to just wipe all the heroes out [[OrcusOnHisThrone instead of just sitting there]]? If the first Big Bad is only a local terror, bigger bads may not have even been ''aware'' of the heroes. The increasing threats they face are a reflection of the threat they pose to the ultimate boss. And then there's the FridgeLogic that can rise when one wonders why later, more powerful villains would tolerate the earlier, weaker ones hatching plots of their own. If the villain of Season Three [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt wants to destroy the world]], and the villain of Season Four [[TakeOverTheWorld wants to conquer it]], why would the Season Four villain tolerate his predecessor's attempts to destroy it? One way to address these issues is to make the later villain a SealedEvilInACan who only gets released after the earlier villain is defeated.
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A problem comes up if a long-running show goes [[PostScriptSeason past its]] first GrandFinale. We may believe that the ultimate EvilOverlord is enough of a tactical dunce to think that sending his henchmen out in ascending order was a valid strategy. But why should the ''new'', unrelated, BigBad happen to be even stronger? Sometimes the {{Big Bad}}s might form a string of [[TheManBehindTheMan Men Behind The Men]], making this structure more sensible. Although this leads to new FridgeLogic issues: why doesn't the Man Most Behind use the [[AuthorityGrantsAsskicking [[RankScalesWithAsskicking unimaginable power]] of his position to just wipe all the heroes out [[OrcusOnHisThrone instead of just sitting there]]? If the first Big Bad is only a local terror, bigger bads may not have even been ''aware'' of the heroes. The increasing threats they face are a reflection of the threat they pose to the ultimate boss. And then there's the FridgeLogic that can rise when one wonders why later, more powerful villains would tolerate the earlier, weaker ones hatching plots of their own. If the villain of Season Three [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt wants to destroy the world]], and the villain of Season Four [[TakeOverTheWorld wants to conquer it]], why would the Season Four villain tolerate his predecessor's attempts to destroy it? One way to address these issues is to make the later villain a SealedEvilInACan who only gets released after the earlier villain is defeated.
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** In one of the earliest chapters of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade The Binding Blade]]'', you have the BigBad, [[AuthorityGrantsAsskicking King Zephiel]][[note]]the guy with the giant lightning trident-sword[[/note]], and feared DragonRider Narcian in Araphen just as Roy's plucky and low-level band of heroes arrive. Zephiel immediately dismisses a suggestion to unleash war dragons on them and delegates the matter to Narcian, who immediately delegates it to ''his'' underling: a level 7 knight. If Zephiel had just stuck around for five minutes, he probably would have won.
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** In one of the earliest chapters of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade The Binding Blade]]'', you have the BigBad, [[AuthorityGrantsAsskicking [[RankScalesWithAsskicking King Zephiel]][[note]]the guy with the giant lightning trident-sword[[/note]], and feared DragonRider Narcian in Araphen just as Roy's plucky and low-level band of heroes arrive. Zephiel immediately dismisses a suggestion to unleash war dragons on them and delegates the matter to Narcian, who immediately delegates it to ''his'' underling: a level 7 knight. If Zephiel had just stuck around for five minutes, he probably would have won.
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* Generally played straight in any given ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' game, ignoring some oddness with midbosses and {{bonus boss}}es. Averted for the series as a whole, where there's no particular scaling of villain power or threat. As characters are reused, their power relative to the point in the game you encounter them is usually relative to the amount of effort they want to exert to try and stop you.
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* Generally played straight in any given ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' game, ignoring some oddness with midbosses and {{bonus boss}}es.{{Optional Boss}}es. Averted for the series as a whole, where there's no particular scaling of villain power or threat. As characters are reused, their power relative to the point in the game you encounter them is usually relative to the amount of effort they want to exert to try and stop you.
