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The Omniscient Council of Vagueness: Difference between revisions
The Omniscient Council of Vagueness (view source)
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The result is a lot of [[Cryptic Conversation|vague and pretentious doubletalk]] about how they know everything that's happening but don't actually mention what any of those things are, not even to themselves. Expect comments like "[[All According to Plan|Everything is going according to]] [[Evil Plan|Plan]]." and "[[Vagueness Is Coming|Great Darkness is coming.]] We will see if the hero can handle it." Except for what little tidbits the writer feels obliged to reveal, as little detail as possible is given. Also, as [[The Hero]] (and by extension, the audience) finds out more of "The Plan", The Omniscient Council Of Vagueness will have no problem discussing those parts directly, even when it was apparently taboo previously. (Though, of course, people tend not to talk in detail about things they all already know. Makes wiretapping a frustrating business.)
If action is demanded, the leader will insist, "[[We Wait]]", "All pieces are not yet in position in the [[Divine Chessboard]]", or "[[I Need You Stronger|Let Him Grow Stronger First]], content in believing that his destiny is his own!" ([[Evil Laugh]]).
If they're pretending to be good, or only the head(s) of the organization are evil, then the organization may undergo a [[Conspiracy Redemption]].
It could be that they simply believe [[You Have No Chance to Survive]], and so permit you to [[Take Your Time]]. Expect them to be secretly displeased as the Hero approaches closer and closer to their [[Orcus on His Throne|permanent hideout]]. He won't [[Villain Exit Stage Left|ever find them]]: the Council is always located someplace you'd [[Right Under Their Noses|never think to look]]. The Council also has a penchant for the [[The Plan]] and its subtropes.
May be a [[Cosmopolitan Council]] and can server as a [[Mysterious Backer]]. See also [[Vagueness Is Coming]], [[You Know the One]], [[He Who Must Not Be Seen]].
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== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' has an [[Ancient Conspiracy]] doubling as a [[Government Conspiracy]]. The first time they meet is as the UN's secret Human Instrumentality Committee, which meets by holographic video conference with color-coded representatives. They then agree to meet for the rest of the series as SEELE, appearing as 2001-style black "sound only" monoliths to save (the animator's) money. In both forms, they are massively opaque.
** In the ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion]]'' they've only appeared as monoliths so far, and are, if possible, even more vague about their actions and motives.
* The future Japan of ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'' is ruled by one that is so vague, that it never makes any appearance at all, or gets defined in even the most basic way. The entire government and administration is full of their pawns, both knowing and unknowing, up to and including the ''prime minister''. The [[Powers That Be]] put her into that position mostly because she looks good in public and [[Tempting Fate|lacks the ambition to interfere with their plans]]. Sometimes Section 9 gets ordered to capture certain people without asking for the reasons, or someone decides to send a hit squad from another agency to stop them from putting their noses into places they are not supposed to. Nobody knows what the people in charge actually want, and few people even seem to care. They just try to protect the people of Japan from harm as well as they can.
** They're not that mysterious; just party heads, industry leaders and lobbying groups with goals that sometimes coincide and sometimes not. They don't have a unified agenda or any formal structure.
** Arguably [[Truth in Television]].
* ''[[Eureka Seven]]'' does the same thing with the Three Sages Council, kicking the pretentiousness of the members way up: {{spoiler|while SEELE '''was''' actually nigh-omnipotent and omniscient, even if they severely underestimated Gendo Ikari, the Sages are in fact revealed to know '''much less''' about the world that they liked to believe, and also get '''''completely screwed''''' by their supposed [[The Dragon|Dragon]] Dewey Novak}}
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* The country of Lacryma in ''[[Noein]]'' is ruled by such a council, which apparently includes a doll.
** One of them is apparently catatonic, and most of the table is empty chairs. There are really only three people left, and their glowy ball is the interface with their Quantum Computer. All they know about our heroes is what their steadily decreasing numbers of 'birds' bring back, and they don't know anything about ''Noein'' at all. Not even his name, only the traitor knows that until the finale. But they're sure shooting for the image.
* Pretty much everybody in ''[[RahXephon]]'' other than the main character gets a shot at this, but Bähbem and anybody he's talking to at any given moment are the champs.
* ''[[Ancient Conspiracy|Les Soldats']]'' high council in ''[[Noir]]'' shows up in this fashion in the later half of the series, though they're pretty much more worried about [[Knight Templar|Altena]] than the [[Hitman with a Heart|main heroines]].
* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'' had one meeting of an [[The Omniscient Council of Vagueness|Omniscient Council Of Vagueness]] with the Surveyors deciding if the Gundam Trinity should be acknowledged. Instead of silhouettes, they used various pieces of art to represent different councillors.
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== Comics Books ==
* The original ''[[G.I. Joe a Real American Hero Marvel|GI Joe: Real American Hero]]" comic included a secret Pentagon faction that directed the Joes to serve their own ends.
* DC comics had The Quintessence.
* [[Marvel Comics]] had the Illuminati, and Osborn's Cabal.
* ''[[Star Wars Legacy]]'' subverts it in that the Moff Council is neither omniscient nor vague. While they have some information, they have been reduced to executors of Sith orders, and discuss matters without [[Cryptic Conversation]], since they mostly gather to bitch about their powerlessness.
* ''Nick Fury vs SHIELD'' gives us the SHIELD Executive Council.
* Marvel introduced The Comission on Superhuman Activities in ''[[Captain America (comics)]]'' as one of these. Later we see who's in it. That doesn't stop them from meeting in a giant not well-lit conference room though.
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* The example at the top of the page is from ''[[Kung Pow]]'', where the evil council turn out to be {{spoiler|French aliens with ships shaped like pyramids. Yes. In a ''kung-fu'' movie.}}
* ''[[Eraserhead]]'''s Man In The Planet manages to be a one-man council of vagueness. Theories on just what he is range from [[Satan]] to [[God]].
** Do keep in mind that it is a [[David Lynch]] film.
** Mr. Roque in [[Mulholland Drive]] fulfills a similar role.
** As does the Black Lodge in [[Twin Peaks]]
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** Yes, Qui-Gon insists that Anakin be trained as a Jedi, despite the fears of the Council (and of Obi-Wan) that Anakin is older than their normal students, and therefore has an unacceptably high risk of turning to the dark side. The audience is expected to sympathise with him… except that Anakin then ''does'' turn to the dark side, proceeding to kill all the Jedi. I think that there's a youtube video Lampshading this, saying [[Sarcasm Mode|Qui-Gon: Best Jedi Ever.]]
* The "Feather Men" from ''[[Killer Elite]]'' are a [[Secret Society]] of retired SAS Operators whose self-appointed job is to protect other SAS Operators, retired or in service.
* ''[[The Avengers (film)|The Avengers]]'' has the 'World Security Council' of American, British, Chinese and Russian members, who are running SHIELD. They seem to know a lot about alien technology, advance weaponry and can order {{spoiler|a nuclear strike on New York}} at will. [[Nick Fury]] seems to know how to handle them when they make the wrong decisions.
** [[The Spoony Experiment|Spoony]] dubs them "The Shadowy Council of People Who Sit in Poorly-Lit Rooms and Rule the World".
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* The Arisians of [[E. E. "Doc" Smith]]'s ''[[Lensman]]'' saga may be the prototype; in several scenes, they discuss the progress of Kimball Kinnison and other major characters in terms of their "Visualization of the Cosmic All" -- making this [[Older Than Television]].
* The Volturi in ''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]''.
* ''The Second [[Foundation]]'' (Asimov's [[Chessmaster]] extraordinares) take this to an extreme. One chapter ends with two Second Foundationers summarizing everything that just happened: "Intersection point?" "Yes! May we live to see the dawn!"
* A council of conspiring nobles in [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld/The Truth|The Truth]]'' is one of these. They call themselves "The Committee To Unelect The Patrician."
** There's another one in ''[[Discworld/Feet of Clay|Feet of Clay]]'', though their goal there is more like "Incapacitate The Patrician".
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* In the early season of ''[[Babylon 5]]'', the Grey Council fit this to a tee, though they weren't villainous.
** Given that it's ''Babylon 5'', not ''exactly'' villainous.
** They often verge on [[Not-So-Omniscient Council of Bickering]] territory, though.
* In the third season of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', the Xindi Council make a rather good attempt at being one of these. Somewhat undermined by the fact that almost their entire plan is revealed to us in the first episode.
** [[They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot|They wasted a perfectly good]] [[Omniscient Council of Vagueness]]?
** The [[Left Hanging|never-unmasked]] "Future Guy" ordering the Suliban around was a one man band version of this trope. His proclamations were far more vague than those of the Xindi, probably because the writers [[The Chris Carter Effect|didn't really have a clue what they were doing with him]].
* ''[[The X-Files]]'' had about six of these over the course of the show.
* ''[[Lost|The Others]]''. Just the Others. After 4+ seasons of lies and doublespeak, the sum total of our knowledge concerning their origins and motives is as follows: 1) they're all manipulative little bastards, 2) they claim to be the good guys, and 3) apparently some guy named Jacob gave them a list at some point.
* Latnok in ''[[Kyle XY]].'' Played straight, complete with shadowy figures sitting around a table watching Kyle on TV screens. Later in the series, it becomes less shadowy as Kyle actually meets some of the members.
* On ''[[Charmed]]'', they had The Triad as the evil version and The Elders as the good.
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* The [[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined|Cylons]]. "They have a plan..." But the writers won't tell us ''what''.
** [[Word of God]] finally admitted that there was never a plan, but "they have a general set of goals, an agenda, if you will," didn't make for a very good tag line.
** Eventually, a movie called "The Plan" was released that was supposed to [[Retcon]] the situation, but instead just ruined the vague sinister mystique of the Cylon nation. The plan in "The Plan" turned out to be {{spoiler|kill all humans, including the remnant in the fleet}}. What, were you expecting something more elaborate?
*** In the original ''[[Battlestar Galactica Classic]]'', Baltar was always reporting to an unknown 'Imperious Leader' though.
* ''[[24]] loves'' this one: sometimes there will be multiple Omniscient Councils of Vagueness in the same season.
** "Loves" is an understatement. There's the so-called "Bluetooth Illuminati" in Seasons 5 and 6, the {{spoiler|super-secret council of private military companies}} in Season 7... not mentioning the dozens of others.
*** Although most of these either got scrapped, were resolved offscreen, or specific members were thrown into random storylines just to be [[Killed Off for Real]]. The one involving {{spoiler|Jack's long lost father and brother}} was even seemingly retconned altogether (though it was replaced by another). Despite all of these plotlines flopping, they constantly continued them. Many fans were particularly pissed by {{spoiler|Season 7's [[Omniscient Council of Vagueness]]}}, because they were sick of this trope being used all the time, among various other things.
* The Kougami Foundation in [[Kamen Rider OOO]] plays this straight. It isn't spelled out until the very end what their chairman wanted.
* Also, [[Kamen Rider Double]], who have Foundation X, who plays this straighter, right down to the lack of any clear motive.
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* The Priests of the Temples of Syrinx in the song ''2112'' by [[Rush]], a [[Strawman Political|strawman communist government]].
* Sarastro and the other Priests in ''[[The Magic Flute]]'' by Mozart fall under this category. Of course the whole opera is about Freemasonry, so it's no wonder there is a secret society...
* There is a song titled "Whatever You Say, Say Nothing." The song is about a man telling the listener about ''you know who'' and ''you know what.'' Never once is any actual name give for the group that will take you to ''you know where'' if they find out you know about them.
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** The heads of Hereti-Corp in meet this way on a regular basis. They also parody this all to hell.
** Though the set-up is different, the Fate Spiders discussing the lines of fate getting tangled and leading to potential disaster very much fulfill the role.
* The Eternal Council in ''[[Adventurers!]]'' functioned this way at first, complete with fire-bordered silhouettes. Later, as its members were introduced one by one, they dropped their ominous shadows (save for Eternion, who having already been introduced, didn't get one; it was explained that this was his "punishment" for his behavior earlier).
* ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures|DMFA]]'' has one of these in the form of the [http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_366.php Creature Council]. Amongst the various ominous silhouettes, a phoenix [[Lampshade Hanging|complains]] about being the only source of light.
* ''[[Antihero for Hire]]'' has the "council of all-consuming fire" show up in [http://www.antiheroforhire.com/d/20080128.html this strip] to [[Lampshade Hanging|hang a lampshade on]] this trope.
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== Web Original ==
* In the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'', [[Ancient Conspiracy|TAROT's Ruling Council]] is (with the single exception of [[Big Bad|The Emperor]], the leader of the organization) a [[The Faceless|faceless group]] of ruthless billionaire businessmen that work from the shadows to further the organization's goals. None of the heroes have ever met a member of the ruling council... that they know of.
* The Shadow Men in ''[[Broken Saints]]'', {{spoiler|Lear and Palmer}}.
* According to [[Little Kuriboh]] and Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series, 4kids is this. Turned [[Up to Eleven]]. They just pop up every now and again, standing up in sync dramatically/observing everyone/making sure that nobody says {{spoiler|Disney}}. Ah! I said it! Noo!
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** And their voices and silhouettes gave out some (most are old cartoon villains)
** A later episode heavily implies that two of them are {{spoiler|Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.}}
* In ''[[Beast Wars]]'', Tarantulas' superiors (The Tripredacus Council) only appeared as three robots in shadows discussing about what had to be done about Megatron.
* ''[[Futurama]]'' has the council of robot elders. Their main goal is to instill a fear of humans into the populace to distract them from the crippling lug nut shortage... and the fact that they are being ruled by incompetent robot elders.
{{quote|Silence!|Silence! I concur.}}
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* When editing [[Wikipedia|larger Wikis]], the editors who wind up peer-reviewing articles (deletion discussions as a prominent example) are an essentially arbitrary group assembled from such a large pool of motives, goals, and expertise they might as well be an Omniscient Council of Vagueness. You get the impression that a cabal of uncaring, misinformed twits is running the whole show with the sole intention of pissing you off. [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|Really, there is no cabal.]] It's just the ''universe'' which hates you.
** The (tabletop) wargaming pages suffer from a one man council, much the chagrin of some wargaming message boards where he has become a ridiculled hate figure. He has his own set of unknown rules by which he deletes entries on games that 'aren't notable enough', with no explanation or reference to either the popularity out side his personal circle or new ideas a set introduces.
* In the Japanese education system, the ''PTA'' fills this role, being made up of mainly highly respected members of the local community (school principals, chief of police, etc) and having enormous sway with the Board of Education and individual schools. They can easily get a teacher they don't approve of fired or transferred, and their complaint about the ''[[Bobobobo Bobobo]]'' anime being "too violent" supposedly was one of the factors that caused its cancellation.
** The American PTA [[Your Mileage May Vary|can fill either example]], [[Depending on the Writer|depending on the school]].
* The [[UseNet]] Cabal. Yes, it did exist at one point, and all members had to repeatedly say that ''"There Is No Cabal."'' Of course, ironically, the Cabal's control over Usenet collapsed with the rise of the .alt hierarchy.
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