The Omniscient Council of Vagueness: Difference between revisions

'''Master <s>Pain</s> Betty''': It is EVIL. [[Verbal Tic|Nnng]]...it is '''so EVIL'''! It is a bad, bad plan...that will hurt many... people...that are good. I think it's great that, 'cause it's so bad!|''[[Kung Pow]]: Enter the Fist''}}

 

 

 

Keep in mind that, plotwise, they should [[The Omniscient|know most]] of the details, including [[Spoiler|spoilers]] that should be kept from the audience or details the writers themselves haven't decided on. This often is the setup for a [[Gambit Roulette]]. Anything that happens, even unlikely combinations of luck and choices that seem to destroy the Council's plans, are "[[Schrodinger's Gun|just as planned]]".

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]].

 

 

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]].

* ''[[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.

** 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]].

* 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.

* ''[[Macross Frontier]]'' has it in form of a bodyless voices engaging in a vague, but ominously sounding dialogues {{spoiler|inside Grace's head}}. [[Mind Screw|Or not]].

** {{spoiler|It's just an [[Hive Mind]] actually, the council linked themselves with each other}}

** Also, because it's a [[Shout-Out]] to [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]].

* The "Book Men" of ''[[Princess Tutu]]'' are shown towards the end of the series in this way--a group of members with their faces hidden by cloaks, gathering in a torch-lit room to gasp and worry over the "awakening" of a mysterious someone. {{spoiler|They're talking about Fakir remembering his [[Reality Warper]] powers. It turns out they're an Ancient Conspiracy that cut off Drosselmeyer's hands...and will do the same to any of his descendants who abuse their powers.}}

* Initially done in ''[[Naruto]]'' with Akatsuki before they were shown at which point some of them were killed, one quit, and rest quickly fell in line with the secret leader.

* The closest thing ''[[One Piece]]'' has is the Gorosei. They're just a bunch of old men who allegedly run the World Government, but between the Council of Kings handling international affairs, and Sengoku controlling the Navy, there's really no telling what they do.

** Another example are the Generals of the Army. Brigadier Generals, Major Generals, Lieutenant Generals, all working under the the Fuhrer towards a [[A God Am I|mysterious goal]] by [[Social Darwinist|sacrificing their own people]].

* The very first people shown in ''[[The Third]]'' are the members of the "Council of the Third". For bonus points, they are initially shown as [[Sinister Silhouettes]].

* [[Zatch Bell]] has the Faudo Cult

** As well as the First Hair Lion's Resolve 16

** There is also IXEX in Shinsetsu Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo.

 

== Comics Books ==

* DC comics had The Quintessence.

* [[Marvel Comics]] had the Illuminati, and Osborn's Cabal.

 

== [[Fan Works]] ==

** In ''canon'', on the other hand, the Hyuuga Council enforces some truly nasty things (such as the sealing of the Branch House and arranging for Hiashi's brother to take his place as a [[Heroic Sacrifice]]), but they are not omniscient, nor are they vague about their intentions. And the existence of the Hyuuga Council and the Konoha Council are not secret at all.

* Lampshaded in the [[Touhou Project]] fanfiction, [[Imperfect Metamorphosis (Fanfic)|Imperfect Metamorphosis]]. When Yukari, Mima, and Eirin gather around a table to discuss the plan to destroy the [[Complete Monster]], Yukari mutters that, with all the powerful people in one room, she might as well break out the black hoods and smoke machines.

* The Secret Department of Investigation in [[Challenge of the Super Friends The End]].

 

* Early on in ''[[Zoolander]]'', main villain [[Affably Evil|Mugatu]] receives his instructions from some kind of Legion of Fashion Doom (Georgio Armani is apparently a member). The whole group remains cloaked in shadows.

* ''[[Harlan Ellison]]'s Movie'' (never filmed, but the script is published) subverts this beautifully. The hero explores a strange building intercut with commentary from the council, then he opens one last door and steps into the council chamber.

* In the [[The Matrix|Matrix Trilogy]], the Architect and the Oracle together form an incredibly opaque and confusing two-man Omniscient Councils of Vagueness ever seen in any form of media. They even spell out the entire plot right there, but its way too confusing for someone like Neo (or most of the audience, for that matter) to understand.

** And possibly even the writers.

** 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.

 

 

== Literature ==

* ''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!"

** The Auditors tend to play out this trope in novels where they're the antagonists, making cryptic remarks about their intentions while avoiding the first-person singular.

* The Spinner's End scene in ''[[Harry Potter]]'', even for being based around a notoriously un-forthcoming character, is simply ''uncanny'' in not showing any details about "the plan".

 

== Live Action TV ==

* 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.

** [[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.

* 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.

** As well as the mysterious, presumably government affiliated group seen in the penultimate episode of season 4 after the failure of The Initiative. They claim they will keep an eye on Buffy and her pals, but are never mentioned again. Until the comics, that is.

* The [[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined|Cylons]]. "They have a plan..." But the writers won't tell us ''what''.

** 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.

** "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 Observers in ''[[Fringe]]''.

* ''[[The Pretender]]''...holy crap. The show's protagonist Jarod is pursued by The Centre, which throughout the show's four seasons reveals itself to be a centre for moral ambiguity, betrayals, shifting alliances both within the organization and with Jarod and a whole lot of evil plotting.

** Then halfway through season two, {{spoiler|all of them except Senator Pearce are revealed, then assassinated a couple of episodes later.}}

* The burned spies organization in ''[[Burn Notice]]''.

== Music ==

* The Priests of the Temples of Syrinx in the song ''2112'' by [[Rush]], a [[Strawman Political|strawman communist government]].

* 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.

 

 

== Video Games ==

** The {{spoiler|Orange Clan}} in particular is practically the video game equivalent of [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|SEELE]].

** This example is shamelessly spoofed by the flash movie, ''Shadow Government Puppet Show'', right down to the dialogue. It turns out that these talking heads are just really, ''really'' bored.

** It's worth noting that the Gazel Ministry isn't teleconferencing. They actually ''are'' talking heads on computer screens attached to a giant rotating sphere. They pretty much can't do anything but rotate and make evil plans, {{spoiler|and get killed by basically hitting the "off" button.}}

* The [[Legion of Doom]] presented in the PS2 game ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' early on met this way as shadowy figures standard to the trope. However, their distinctive body shapes and iconic voices make easy for anyone familiar with Disney to identify them.

** Forget "distinctive body shapes"; turning up the brightness all the way makes it even more apparent who they are.

* Throughout ''[[Disgaea Hour of Darkness]]'', scenes show Seraph Lamington and an obscured individual discussing their plan in this manner. However, {{spoiler|not only is the plan not particularly evil in any way, but the other man involved is the comic relief character Mid-Boss}}.

* ''[[Breath of Fire]] V: Dragon Quarter'' had one of these, in the form of the Regents. They are, however, apparently at cross-purposes with each other, and its leader is running plots so convoluted that he's trying to help you ''and'' kill you at the same time.

** It might also be the council that rules the nation of Amn, (the setting of the game) whose identities are secret.

* In ''[[Half Life]]'' the sinister G-man makes passing references to his ''employers''. Said employers are never revealed, but it is heavily implied that they're some sort of dark, omniscient cabal pursuing a mysterious agenda.

*** That doesn't specify ''which'' people.

* The Philosophers of ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'', and their successors The Patriots. {{spoiler|Except that the actual Patriots are disguising themselves as an Omniscient Council Of Vagueness. In truth, they are a network of four super computers that have almost complete control over the digital infrastructure of the entire world, and have become impossible to control by their creators long ago.}} Mildly subverted in that they are never actually seen meeting.

* The ''[[Mass Effect]]'' series has both the Shadow Broker and Cerberus/Illusive Man. Helping or following direct orders/requests from either group generally rewards [[Karma Meter|renegade points]].

** While both of these are powerful organizations, and their leadership is ambiguous in [[Mass Effect 1]], in [[Mass Effect 2]] we find that [[Averted Trope|they are each led by individuals]]...

* In [[Two Worlds]], the player character is tasked by one Omniscient Council of Vagueness to recover an artifact that will bring about the revival of a dead god. These men are invariably represented with sweeping cloaks, hooded faces, and black armor. Throughout the game, the player encounters several opposite types of men in every major city in Antaloor. These men wear white armor, wear helmets, and are all referred to as "Stranger". These fellows mention the player's destiny and the like, and the main character is noticeably disturbed by them. Only after [[The Reveal]] does this mysterious group reveal itself to the Player: The Paladins, another Omniscient Council of Vagueness, but a good one. If the player chooses the Evil Choice at the end of the game, they wind up having to fight the entire Paladin council for their final battle, which is MUCH harder than the fight if you choose the Good Choice, in which you kill the remaining member of the Evil council after spending the latter half of the game killing off the other members.

* Takamagahara from the story mode in ''[[Blaz Blue]]'': Continuum Shift fall under this.

* The Three Wise Men from ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]: [[Strange Journey]]'', an explicit [[Council of Angels]] that acts in lieu (and, they claim, in the name of) [[God]]. The appearance of the [[Negative Space Wedgie|Schwarzwelt]] provided them an opportunity to guide the world into a land ruled by Law, and the Protagonist and the rest of the Schwarzwelt Investigation Team are the perfect pawns to fulfill their desires. Unlike the true originator of the Schwarzwelt, however, {{spoiler|going against their wishes doesn't set them against the Protagonist, as they're quite confident that he will fail and they, as eternal beings, can just try again with someone else}}.

 

 

== Web Comics ==

* ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'':

** 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.

* ''[[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.

{{quote| '''Brother Southeast''': He has proven receptive to the idea of the power, plus he has the resources to recover the items.<br />

'''Brother Northeast''': That is quite good, but can we be less vague? We could finish these meetings in half the time if we were just straightforward. }}

* The Rabbit Council in [[Kevin and Kell]], up until {{spoiler|Kevin was appointed and he convinced the others to hold meetings in full light}}

* [[MSF High]]: The newest arc as introduces a circle of students in cloaked hoods talking about Donovan's progress after the Lana arc. Time will tell if they remain as this.

* Parodied in ''[[Metalocalypse]]''. Dethklok is observed by The Tribunal, with its members continuously asserting that Dethklok is incredibly dangerous to the world, and how their latest antics could be disastrous. For almost half a season, they carefully review their tactics, and the president of the council invariably opts to [[We Wait|do absolutely nothing]], claiming that "it's too soon" or "we must observe them" or "we will let this play out".

** They're also a [[Cosmopolitan Council]] of evil overlord stereotypes, [[Running Gag|overplayed]] to the point of being [[The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything|completely ineffectual]] ... until a sudden onset of [[Cerebus Syndrome]] (if that is even possible for the show!) made the Tribunal and its members a more active part of the plot. It turns out that the leader [[Unwitting Pawn|secretly]] {{spoiler|[[I Need You Stronger|wants Dethklok to succeed]]}}.

* ''[[Clone High]]'' was created by the (self-proclaimed) Secret Board of Shadowy Figures in an attempt to create [[Super Soldier|Super Soldiers]] because [[Lamarck Was Right]].

** 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.}}

* ''[[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.}}

** Not to forget the Nibblonian council.

* The Observant High Council in ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' would count. Interestingly, they've only been hinted at and barely-more-than-cameod in two episodes. They have been shown as a jury of ghosts judging one ghost in particular and also have sworn to "watch but never act"... a code they've violated in a roundabout way by asking Clockwork, a [[Dungeon Master]], to interfere. Danny is apparently aware of their existence but has only referred to them once.

** Episode 14 confirms the rest of the council as {{spoiler|Vandal Savage, Ocean Master, Queen Bee, The Brain, and Klarion the Witch Boy}}.

* In [[Justice League Unlimited]], Cadmus serves as one of these initially, though their membership is exposed over the course of the season

* [[Secret Organization Craving Intelligent Enigmatic Tropers Yonder|S]]ome pe[[Secret Organization Craving Intelligent Enigmatic Tropers Yonder|o]]ple have theorized that such an Omnipotent [[Secret Organization Craving Intelligent Enigmatic Tropers Yonder|C]]ouncil ex[[Secret Organization Craving Intelligent Enigmatic Tropers Yonder|i]]sts on [[This Very Wiki]]. I don't know wh[[Secret Organization Craving Intelligent Enigmatic Tropers Yonder|e]]re [[Secret Organization Craving Intelligent Enigmatic Tropers Yonder|t]]he[[Secret Organization Craving Intelligent Enigmatic Tropers Yonder|y]] got this idea. Everyone knows that's a lie. [[Troper|Tropers]] are much too busy editing pages to form a [[Secret Organization Craving Intelligent Enigmatic Tropers Yonder|cabal]]. Yes, the idea is appealing, but it's just not true.

** The admins can sure seem this way when you don't particular know or care to know about admin politics. That is; unseen, incomprehensible, usually irrelevant.

* 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.

* 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.

* Subverted in the British and Australian political systems with the Shadow Cabinet, who consist of the current government's opposite numbers in the opposition party and exist entirely to criticize and annoy the people trying to do things. However, it makes the news much funnier to imagine that they ARE this trope.

*** In Australia, people have started to swing back to the belief that the Shadow Cabinet is this trope. It's not helped by the fact that [https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=204531316261713&set=a.204531312928380.50907.204527709595407&type=1 they look quite evil when photographed].

** The President of the United States supposedly has a "Shadow Government" that can swing into action in event of a disaster wiping out much of the leadership of the Executive Branch, which has fed some conspiracies despite the fact that it's just a list of names to speed up the process of restaffing the offices the President has appointment authority over.

* The Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI.

** Officially, ISI handles and coordinates the intelligence from military branches. Unofficially, though...

* Various decision making bodies of the United States Federal Reserve and other central banks tend to operate in total secrecy and without oversight from anybody accountable to the people.

* There is a Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118398138182138 Group] for this trope, apparently.