Plot Irrelevant Villain: Difference between revisions
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The problem? Joe isn't actually essential to the narrative and isn't particularly interesting, either. Where a serious villain would [[Kick the Dog]] to inspire an emotional reaction, this guy barely manages to [[Poke the Poodle]]. He'll dash onscreen every so often, twirl his moustache in a [[Jerkass]] manner, and then leave with little fanfare.
In other words, Joe is a villain who doesn't do anything. He has been shoehorned into the narrative for little reason beside the conventional wisdom that all narratives need a clear bad guy. For this reason, he's an especially common addition to adaptations intended to reach a [[Viewers are Morons|wider audience]] than in his original form.
While the easiest way to sum up this trope is "useless character",
This trope can possibly go in line with [[Designated Villain]]. If he's there to provide someone to boo because the main
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* From ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'', Gary Oak in the first season. He's a [[Jerkass]]
** [[Terrible Trio|Team Rocket]] also fall into this sometimes, mostly in the movies
* In the first season of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's]]'', there was Devack, one of the Dark Signers; while most members of this group had extensive backgrounds, motivations, and some sort of connection to the heroes, Devack had none whatsoever in all three areas. He was a [[Card-Carrying Villain]] who seemed to despise the Signers for no known reason. (The ''Yu-Gi-Oh! 10th Anniversary Animation Book'' explains that Devack was originally intended to be from [[Religion of Evil| a demon worshipping cult]] and was [[Human Sacrifice| sacrificed to the Earthbound Gods]], but then reborn as a Dark Signer.)
*
* In ''[[Wizard's Soul - Koi no Seisen]]'', the [[Alpha Bitch]] and her two lackies try to sabatoge Monika's chance at victory in the TCG tournament by doing things like file Monika's card sleeves so it looks like Monika's a cheater.
* ''[[Sword Art Online]]'' has an odd in-universe example
** The villain in the full-length movie ''Sword Art Online The Movie -Ordinal Scale-'' discovers this unused Boss through data mining, figured it was a shame to waste it, and [[Tropes Are Not Bad|used it as a weapon against the heroes]], resulting in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xp8F4V39k4 an epic battle] where ''every'' survivor from the original series squared off against the boss-who-never-was.
== [[Film]] ==
* In the movie ''[[Fired Up]]'', the [[The Cheerleader|stereotypical evil cheerleader captain]] of the [[Opposing Sports Team]] is introduced as a big villain... and does nothing in her five minutes total screen time other than badmouth the good team a couple of times, and have sex with the female lead's [[Jerkass]] boyfriend.
* The rival climatologist team in ''[[Twister]]''
* The film ''Recipe for a Perfect Christmas'' had an office rival for the heroine who did not directly harm the heroine at all but still gets a verbal slapdown for offering her own ideas to the boss while the heroine has been suspended from her job.
* Although he's a very memorable character, pretty much the entire plot of ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'' happens without Oogie Boogie, and the [[Final Battle]] happens after the climax as a way of tying off loose ends rather than causing any resolution or character development.
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