NOTE: Since this trope reveals a villain being responsible for other events in the series (potentially even after their own demise), expect spoilers.
Villainous Legacies in Fan Works.
Crossovers
- From Empathy and its sequel Unity (Finmonster):
- Gallaxhar's actions in Monsters vs. Aliens ultimately set the stage for the events of Empathy, as the technology his invasion left behind caused a technological and economic boom that led to San Fransokyo being the beacon of technological advancement that it is when the story begins. Said technology would also unwittingly lead to the portal disaster that caused Abigail to be captured by the Gorg, causing Callaghan's Start of Darkness.
- Tighten/Titan's actions reverberate throughout Unity. Metro Man's abandonment of Metro City led to his creation, and his refusal to stop Titan's rampage is the crux of his estrangement with Mr. Incredible. Said rampage is also implied to have killed Margo's parents, making him at least partially responsible for the events of Despicable Me. Most of all, Megamind's strong dedication to his Heel–Face Turn is motivated by his desire to atone for Titan's creation.
- Darth Traya plays this role in Jaune Arc, Lord of Hunger. Despite being dead for thousands of years, the impact of her actions continue to be felt throughout the main story. Her former apprentice Darth Nihilus wouldn't be anywhere near the threat he is today without her guidance. She is the one who originally recruited Nihilus into the Sith and taught him how to drain entire planets with his power as part of her effort to destroy the Force. Nihilus's spirit eventually passes down her philosophies to Jaune, who starts espousing them to his friends after falling to the Dark Side.
- “The Prodigal Grandson
” pits James Bond (here former Time Lord assassin Yamesbohbnd) against Michael Auric Goldfinger, grandson to the original Goldfinger. After Auric Goldfinger died, his son took over the business empire and managed to keep it afloat before his death, but his grandson has turned Goldfinger Holdings back into a more thriving business, prior to his current alliance with the Cybermen. - Ace Swift, the Asshole Victim of Turnabout Storm. His immoral actions indirectly caused the conflict in the story, but it never met in person since he's dead.
- The War of Megazords Vs. Gundams has Patrick Zala and Mykan Yuki. They fueled each other's hatred towards Naturals and Coordinators receptively and are what sparked their respective wars.
- one day at a time (Nyame):
- Even after Jason permanently killed Ra's al Ghul in the previous timeline, he still continued to haunt the Bat-Family. The ensuing Civil War in the wake of his death for control over the League of Assassins culminated in the near-destruction of his entire house, with only Talia surviving when it was all over. Jason specifically points out Damian and Mara as victims as Ra's, implicitly noting that neither of them had to die and the only reason both of them did is because Mara couldn't let go of her childhood grudge against Damian — which only developed because Ra's deliberately raised them as rivals instead of family. This is later deconstructed; Ra's' legacy had such a negative effect on all the people who survived him, including his family and allies, that they all eventually came to reject it.
- The Joker. Jason's entire life and the lives of his family were shaped by the Joker, one way or the other. By killing Joker III, he unwittingly enabled the rise of Joker IV, who murdered Bruce and most of Bruce's original Rogues Gallery, eventually forcing Dick and later Jason himself to become Batman. Joker IV later killed Joker V's husband during one of his rampages, leading to her murdering him in turn and forcibly replacing him as the next Joker. Through that, she caused Jason to accept Carrie Kelley as his first Robin and later created an entirely new Rogues Gallery for him to fight, ensuring that he could never retire as Batman. Finally, her death led to the rise of Joker VI, whose actions eventually led to Jason becoming interested in making Terry his successor.
- Black Mask. While he never appears in the story proper and was presumably killed in the Arkham Massacre in the original timeline, his influence was still felt throughout Gotham. His son took up his name and tried to revitalize Gotham's organized crime, starting by murdering the Penguin, the last of Gotham's original rogues. More noticeably, said son murdered Selina Kyle after she refused to work for him, leading to her daughter with Bruce, Helena, falling into Jason's custody. Helena would promptly become the sixth Robin and the second Huntress, with a major chip on her shoulder regarding organized crime.
- Future Tim, whose appearance is what prompted Tim to preemptively ban himself from ever becoming Batman, ensuring that Jason couldn't foist the mantle onto him after Dick died.
- How on Earth?: The entire Uno family is a long line of these. While Grandfather is responsible for Father turning out the way he did, the one responsible for Grandfather turning out the way he did was his own grandmother. According to Monty Uno, Grandfather's eldest son, there are tons of stories about the abusive parenting styles of his ancestors; Nigel is horrified to realize that Grandfather's terrible treatment of him thus far in the story is relatively benign in comparison.
- Despicable vs. Devoted: Gru's family has a long-standing tradition of villainy, which drives Hypno-Joe's actions throughout the series.
- Abraxas (Hrodvitnon): Although Alan Jonah is killed roughly 2/3 through the story, the Many which he created remains a threat for the rest of the story. Plus, the author thinks that it was from Jonah's mind specifically that the Big Bad Ghidorah learned through the Many about Paradise Lost and formed a particular part of its Evil Plan for Monster X.
- A Thing of Vikings: The epigraph for Chapter 119 mentions that the legacy Mac Bethad left behind is a negative one with his machinations surviving him. He may be dead, but he planted the seeds for future conflicts. By having Mildew enthrall dragons, Mac Bethad caused many Thengills to start banding together to attack humans while the epigraph mentions that the conflicts that led to the Norse Reformation was also partially his fault. He's also indirectly responsible for King Henry's attack on Stoick, since he sent plans for Hiccup's anti-dragon weapons to all the royals of Europe.
- Ages of Shadow: Even though Jade is defeated and permanently sealed at the end of the Third Age portion of the story, the Interlude is all about her minion Zaben using what's left of the resources she left behind to carry out several Evil Plans.
- In World as Myth, Ihiko Shishime seems to be this, as his existence is heavily implied to be the reason for the Big Bad's plans.
- Cheat Code: Support Strategist: All for One encourages Spinner to take up Stain's mantle and katana, molding him into a dangerous new threat. In this case, All for One is deliberately invoking this, in fact he had Stain assassinated and stole his Quirk for the express purpose of molding a new Hero Killer under his command.
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- Queen Chrysalis in Cadence in A Minor. She never actually appears in person, but her raping a brainwashed Shining Armor while taking the place of his bride is the root cause of most of the fic's conflict.
- The Nuptialverse: Families deals with the emotional fallout caused by Queen Chrysalis' invasion, from the strain her actions caused to the Mane Six's friendships to Olive Branch's anti-Celestria crusade. The fact she's still at large doesn't help one bit.
- Naru-Hina Chronicles: In the years since the disappearance of the Akatsuki, several groups of rogue ninjas have tried to use its reputation by claiming to be the Akatsuki, doing so while wearing its trademark uniform.
- Pokémon Reset Bloodlines has 20 Gyarados Bill, whose legacy comes up everywhere in the universe from why trainers can only have six Pokémon to Sabrina's mindset and Gurkinn's philosophies.
- In Old West, which is set one year after the ending of the movie, the Big Bad role is filled by Dufayel, a businessman fox who invested the Evil Plan of the late Mayor Tortoise John. He reveals that when a large gold deposit beneath the town of Dirt was discovered, he was offered it by the mayor who focused on his own plans. The current plot is driven by Dufayel attempting to drive anyone from the area so that he can claim that gold. To make things worse, he owns all the business assets of his late business partner, including Dirt that is now known as Mud. When asked about his motives, Dufayel claims that he wants to modernize the West in a similar way to Tortoise John, only by using gold instead of water as a tool in it. He's actually threatened by bankruptcy due to him investing nearly all his money on Tortoise John's project.
- The Wolf in me: While Livia dies at the end of the first story, she continues to affect the heroes' lives. A vampire she imprisoned attacks Jade and Tori's kids in one story. Her daughter is the villain for the rest of the series, trying to get revenge for her death. Margo's revealed to have been previously working for her. The only story she doesn't have any impact in is "Double Trouble", and even then, she's mentioned by Jade.
