The Man Behind the Man: Difference between revisions

[[File:puppet_master_8781puppet master 8781.jpg|link=Ultimate X-Men|frame|Being a [[The Chessmaster|Chessmaster]] does not mean you're in charge.]]

'''Raiden''': Alright, this has officially become a load of crap.|''[http://www.gamespite.net/toastywiki/index.php/Site/ThumbnailMetalGearSolid2-05 Thumbnail Threatre: Metal Gear Solid 2: Part 5]''}}

When a character previously positioned as a [[Big Bad]] is revealed in fact to be a [[Disc One Final Boss]], [['''The Man Behind the Man]]''' shows his (or her, or its)their face.

Unlike the good guys, who tend to form [[Ragtag Band of Misfits|Ragtag Bands of Misfits]] based on family and friendship, bad guys are big on chains of command. The Man has deeper problems, deeper motives and so much power that the heroes will have to go through another round of dungeon diving just to stand a chance. When he reveals his reasons for being evil, expect the theme of the plot to unfold quickly and dramatically.

And beware, lest you uncover the [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere|Giant Space Flea]] [[Outside Context Villain|behind the man]]. Sufficiently complex plots may involve [[Up to Eleven|The Man]] ''[[Up to Eleven|Behind]]'' [['''The Man Behind the Man]]''' and so forth; the [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil]] usually, but not always, applies in these cases.

Compare and contrast [[Bigger Bad]], where a villain more powerful than the [[Big Bad]] exists, but is either not personally involved in the plot or is not a "person" to begin with.

** What about [[Filler|the Shusuke Amagai arc]]? You spend the entire arc thinking that {{spoiler|Kumoi wants to kill Lurichiyo and control the Kasumioji clan}}, but then when you finally confront {{spoiler|Komoi, Amagai appears out of nowhere, kills him, kidnaps Lurichiyo, and then proceeds to let everyone know his plans to kill Yamamoto, and he used Kumoi and the entire Kasumioji clan to get his hands on a weapon that [[Power Nullifer|somehow disables all but his zanpaktou so he could kill Yamamoto with it]]}}. Of course, Ichigo proceeds to save the day.

* In the original manga version of ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', the final villain, Chaos, reveals that all four previous [[Big Bad|Big Bads]]s (Queen Metallia, Death Phantom, Pharaoh 90, and Nehellenia) were all created by him.

* The ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' manga reveals at the end that {{spoiler|every villain Yusuke faces throughout the series is actually acting with the approval and, in some cases, the aid of King Enma, who wants to make himself look better by having major threats repeatedly stopped by Yusuke and allies (who, of course, work for him).}} The anime opted instead to end with another [[Tournament Arc]], which was glossed over in the manga.

** In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'', the villain of the third season, Professor Viper, is revealed to be working for a Duel Monster spirit named Yubel. Later in Season 4, initial villain "Trueman" is revealed to be working for Yusuke Fujiwara...only for Yusuke to be revealed as a host for Nightshroud, the true villain.

** The Special Edition of ''00'' revealed that {{spoiler|Ribbons is literaly this to Alejandro}}.

* In ''[[Gundam Seed]]'', Rau Le Creuset is eventually revealed to be [[The Man Behind the Man]] to [[Arch Enemy|archenemies]] [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Muruta Azrael]] and [[General Ripper|Patrick Zala]], pretending to be [[The Mole]] for the former and [[The Dragon]] for the latter. It's all part of his plan to move both sides in the war to such extremes that [[Misanthrope Supreme|human]] [[Kill All Humans|extinction]] will be guaranteed.

* ''[[Blood Plus|Blood+ ]]'' does this fairly often. In early episodes Van Argeno is set up as the [[Big Bad]], however {{spoiler|after about ten episodes, he's revealed to be working to Solomon. Later, Solomon is shown to actually be the lowest-ranking of five Chevaliers. Then, for a time, their progenitor Diva is expected to be the mastermind, but she turns out to be too crazy to be the leader. By the end it's become apparent that Amshel is calling the shots, whereas Argeno - who was the first supposed [[Big Bad]], remember - is reduced to cowering in fear and begging for his life.}} As a kind of a last hurrah, the final episode also implies that {{spoiler|Nathan}} had been pulling the strings all along.

** Oh, {{spoiler|Nathan}} wasn't pulling strings, [[True Neutral|he was just along for the ride.]]

* In ''[[Darker Thanthan Black]]'', it looks like it's such a [[Melee a Trois]] that there can't possibly be a [[Big Bad]]. However, it turns out that {{spoiler|[[The Syndicate]], the [[Spy-Versus-Spy|dueling intelligence agencies]], the Japanese police force, and PANDORA were all controlled by the same people. Evening Primrose was actually [[La Résistance]], and other than their influence, all the conflict in the series had been due to the higher-ups pitting the Contractors against each other to keep them from finding out their genocidal plans.}}

* This is implied near the end of ''[[Fruits Basket]]'', after Akito's {{spoiler|[[Heel Face Turn]], the 'man' in question actually being the Sohma family elders, who criticize Akito for not emotionally destroying the members of the Zodiac.}}.

* The heroes in [[Warren Ellis]]'s ''[[Nextwave]]: Agents of H.A.T.E.'', spend most of the series battling or evading Dirk Anger of the evil Beyond Corporation. Once they beat him, they face the Beyond Corporation's CEO, Number None... who is revealed to be a robot controlled by [[The Man Behind the Curtain|a baby M.O.D.O.K.]], who claims to be the [[Diabolical Mastermind]] behind it all... before being [[You Have Failed Me...|shot dead]] by {{spoiler|Devil Dinosaur, the ''real'' lizard behind the man}}.

* [[Playing with a Trope|Played with]] in ''[[The Nail]]''. It's implied that [[Lex Luthor]] (believed by the Justice League to be the [[Big Bad]]) is being manipulated by [[wikipedia:Starro|Starro]] until it's revealed that {{spoiler|[[Red Herring|"Starro"]] is actually a [[The Grotesque|mutated]] version of [[Krypto the Superdog|Krypto]]}}. The ''real'' [[Big Bad]] is none other than... {{spoiler|[[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|Jimmy Olsen]]}}.

* [[Yoda Kenobi]], author of the epic ''[[Star Wars]]'' fanfic series ''[[Legacy of the Sith]]'' loves this one. The villain of the first story is set up as [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Vagaari]] leader Goresh Tenziesh, but he turns out to be controlled by [[Smug Snake|General Kol Renin]], one of the leaders of {{spoiler|the true Sith Empire}}. ''Then'' it's revealed that Renin is only {{spoiler|an apprentice Sith. The real mastermind is his Master, [[Magnificent Bastard|Darth Malig]]. Now it's being foreshadowed that even Malig isn't the complete answer to the puzzle, though it's unknown if there's another villain controlling him or not}}.

* In ''[[Naruto Veangance Revelaitons]]'', a "council" of five Christians is apparently the group giving orders to [[Big Bad|Madara]], [[The Dragon|Taliana]], [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|the President of the Kibusi Corporation]], [[President Evil|the President of the United States]] and many others.

* ''[[The Legend of Spyro: A New Dawn|The Legend of Spyro a New Dawn]]'' has it's first half with a [[Big Bad Ensemble]] consisting of [[Anti-Villain|Deadlock]], [[Physical God|Empress Tyrania]], and [[Gentleman Thief|Boss Kaze]], though Deadlock is [[The Heavy]] of the three. The second half reveals that {{spoiler|Deadlock's [[Dragon]] General Grendel had been manipulating all three of them as part of his plan to gain an [[Artifact of Doom]] he can use to obtain the power of the Naga Spirit Of War and take revenge on the dragons for their banishment of the Naga thousands of years ago. In a twist, the readers know he's [[The Man Behind the Man]] at the half way point but the characters don't until after Deadlock is defeated and he successfully performs the ritual, giving him access to a civilization destroying [[Eldritch Abomination]].}}

* During the first [[Story Arc]] of ''[[Jewel of Darkness]]'', Slade is this to Midnight -- inMidnight—in [[Alternate Universe|this universe]], she's the first [[Big Bad]] that the Titans face, as she tries to prove that she's a worthy apprentice to Slade. However, the Titans don't know this, viewing her as an independent villain; they don't learn of Slade's existence until the climax of the arc, when he shows up to rescue the defeated Midnight from the Titans.

* Emperor Palpatine to Darth Vader in ''[[A New Hope]]'' and ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' making a cameo in the latter. Also to Count Dooku in the prequels ''[[Star Wars]]''. We know that Dooku isn't in charge. The characters don't. Galactic-scale defeat ensues.

* The 2003 ''[[Zatoichi]]'' remake takes this to a ridiculous level in revealing ''two'' men behind the man in the film's very last minutes.

* ''[[Rush Hour|Rush Hour 2]]''. This trope is discussed by Carter and Lee. Carter's theory of investigation is "Follow the Rich White Man." His belief is that behind every major crime there's a rich white man waiting for his cut. {{spoiler|And he's right. In each movie the [[Big Bad]] or one his associates is the rich white guy.}}

** Not just the ruler of this galaxy but, it is implied, the entire known universe -- thisuniverse—this galaxy is just where the Frogstar inhabitants placed him for safekeeping, but he receives other visitors from "far away, so far away" on a regular basis.

* Glen Cook does this constantly in all his major works. Played straightest in ''Dread Empire'' where the titular empire, Shinsan, is controlled by its emperor who wins the succession struggle halfway through the series , {{spoiler|, O Shing. But he is really being controlled by a cabal of sorcerer-generals, the Tervola, who are actually being controlled by a conspiracy of 9 individuals at the highest places in society from across the globe/continent, who are actually being controlled by an immortal demigod the Star Rider, who is being controlled by an ill defined higher, extra-dimensional power. That's where it stops, but probably not.}}

** Sauron's also heavily implied or outright stated to be the man behind Angmar, several barbarian invasions of Gondor, and at least one plague. He did a lot to weaken his enemies before revealing himself openly a few decades prior to ''[[The Lord of the Rings|LOTR]]''.

* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Ruin]] wasn't controlling ''all'' of the other villains in ''[[Mistborn]]'', but he was (directly or indirectly) the cause of most of their actions, as well as being the driving force behind a good portion of history and {{spoiler|the entire prophecy of the Hero of Ages.}}

* In the ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]] [[Blood Angels]]'' novels, we learn that Dark Apostle Iskavan reports to Warmaster Garand, who in turn reports to Abbadon the Despoiler, while {{spoiler|Inquisitor Stele's}} [[The Chessmaster|Chessmastery]] is still part of Malfallax's greater game.

* Raymond E. Feist is in ''love'' with this one. Across the ''[[Riftwar Cycle]]'', the first real villains (the first book was more [[Grey and Grey Morality]]) were the dark elves, who then turned out to be manipulated by the [[Reptiles Are Aborrent|Pantathian]] [[Religion of Evil|priests]], who were in turn pawns for [[Abusive Precursors|the Valheru]]. Later installments revealed that the Valheru themselves were being influenced by [[God of Evil|Nalar]], and the most recent books are suggesting that someone or something else is manipulating ''him''. Among the side villains, [[Eldritch Abomination|the Dark God]] was manipulating the Dasati for centuries before taking its place as their ruler, and the demon legions currently trying to invade the mortal world are on the run from ''even worse demons'' back home.

* ''[[Harry Potter]] and the Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerernovel)|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's) Stone]]'': Quirrel being the [[Big Bad]] was the main [[The Reveal|reveal]] but Voldemort being a [[Visual Pun|literal man]] [[Incredibly Lame Pun|behind the man]] was also pretty big.

* In Steven Gould's novel ''[[Jumper (novel)|Reflex]]'', Davy and Millie Rice end up with a series of Men Behind Men at least three layers deep.

** In season 6, {{spoiler|Abu Fayed's superior, General Habib, appears in one episode, but he was already captured by the time we learn about him. Fayed was also the attempted pawn of Dmitri Gredenko, however Gredenko died and Fayed seemed to reclaim his spot as antagonist, but died in the very next episode. Latter a different conspiracy emerged when the Chinese entered the picture, led by Cheng Zi, and they are revealed to be in cahoots with Jack's long lost father Phillip. Phillip and his son Graem were also Logan's co-conspirators in the previous conspiracy, or at least until they were seemingly retconned, as Logan recievedreceived the full blame for it at the start of season 7.}}

** In season 7, {{spoiler|it's debatable whether Benjamin Juma's relations with Jonas Hodges count, as Hodges relationship is already stated in Redemption, and it can be interpreted as more of a [[Big Bad Duumvirate]] than Hodges being Juma's superior. On a far grander and less ambigiousambiguous scale, even Hodges was merely a member of a [[The Omniscient Council of Vagueness|large cabal]] headed by Alan Wilson, and Wilson was stated by Tony Almeida to have been [[The Man Behind the Man]] to [[President Evil]] Charles Logan.}}

** In Season 8 {{spoiler|Farhad Hassan and Samir Mehran were the Men Behind the assassination attempt on President Hassan. Meanwhile, Mehran was secretly supported by Russian Minister Mikhail Novakovich, who in turn answered to Russian President Yuri Suvarov who seemed to have undergone a [[Face Heel Turn]]. They are later blackmailed into a new conspiracy, which involved both the US and Russian governments covering up the original conspiracy, signing the peace treaty, and attempting to kill Jack Bauer. The man behind it? None other than Former [[President Evil]] Charles Logan.}}

* In [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] in 1998, [[Vince McMahon]] underwent a [[Heel Face Turn]] after his son [[Shane McMahon]] took over his stable, [[The Corporation]], and merged it with [[The Undertaker]]'s pseudo-Satanic cult, The [[Ministry of Darkness]], to form The Corporate Ministry. While Shane and [[The Undertaker]] usurped control of Vince's company and kidnapped his daughter [[Stephanie McMahon]], Vince was forced to make peace with all the wrestlers he'd spent the past few years screwing over time and time again, and unite them against this new threat. Then, Undertaker started speaking of a "higher power" he served -- whoserved—who turned out to be Vince himself, a [[Shocking Swerve]] that wrestling fans are still mad about.

** The earliest example of {{spoiler|the Daleks}} being the Man Behind the Man Behind the Man was in [[Doctor Who/Recap/S10 E3/E03 Frontier in Space|Frontier in Space]], in which case they were behind {{spoiler|the Master}}, who was the Man Behind the Man to the Ogrons.

* ''[[Hawaii Five-O]]'': {{spoiler|Wo Fat}}, in both the 1968-80 original and the 2010 reboot--butreboot—but much more prominently in the latter.

* In ''[[Smallville]]'''s eighth season, [[Evil Cripple|Lex]] is [[The Man Behind the Man]] to {{spoiler|[[The Baroness|Tess Mercer]]}}, while [[Unholy Matrimony|Faora and Zod]] are [[The Man Behind the Man]] to {{spoiler|[[Person of Mass Destruction|Doomsday]]}}, although they don't retain control of him for long. In Season 10, [[Darkseid]] is [[The Man Behind the Man]] to [[Evil Old Folks|Granny Goodness]], [[Serial Killer|Desaad]], and [[Compelling Voice|Gordon Godfrey]], as well as [[General Ripper|Slade Wilson]] and the Vigilante Registration Act.

* In the ''[[Burn Notice]]'' episode ''Dead to Rights,'' it is revealed that Larry was working for {{spoiler|Anson}} -- and—and not even ''Larry'' knew it, thanks to an elaborate [[The Plan|plan]].

* Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick are this to the judges on ''[[American Idol]]''.

* One of the first adventure paths in role-playing, the G/D/Q series of 1st edition ''[[Dungeons & Dragons|AD&D]]'' modules, was essentially this trope played out repeatedly: hill giants working for frost giants, frost giants for fire giants, all giants for drow, drow for Lolth. By the time you kill their demon-goddess, you're either [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|crowing that you've bested the ''ultimate'' Man Behind The Man]], or [[Your Mileage May Vary|fed up and ready to play some one-shot adventures for a change]].

* In ''[[Paranoia (game)|Paranoia]]'', if the players ever investigate a really large-scale conspiracy and are about to get to the bottom of it, Friend Gamemaster is encouraged to [[Retcon|introduce evidence]] that the culprits were being manipulated by someone else.

** Its spiritual successor, ''[[BioshockBioShock (series)|BioShock]]'', also does a masterful execution of it with {{spoiler|Frank Fontaine}}.

*** ''[[BioshockBioShock (series)|BioShock]]'' is something of a subversion, since {{spoiler|Fontaine is actually revealed to be the man behind ''you'' (Atlas doesn't really count as he was just Fontaine's alter-ego, not a separate person).}}

*** To take the [[Final Fantasy IV]] example further {{spoiler|Golbez was actually the man behind King Baron near the beginning of the game}}. Making the real [[Big Bad]] The Man Behind [[The Man Behind the Man]].

* In ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', early in the game, your party learns the [[Big Bad]] caused an apocalyptic destruction of the world. Eventually, they find someone casting a dark ritual which is summoning the [[Big Bad]]. So, your party fights and defeats the summoner {{spoiler|Magnus}}, believing him to be [[The Man Behind the Man]] and finds out {{spoiler|he was trying to summon Lavos to destroy him until your party disrupted the ritual}}

** Actually, the only true cases of this Trope are in {{spoiler|Project GA with [[Big Bad|Eonia]] and [[Enfant Terrible|Noah]]. Then in ''Galaxy Angel Moonlit Lovers'' with [[Avenging the Villain|Lezom Mer Zom]] and [[Evil Chancellor|Nephelia]].}} More like "The Woman Behind the Man" if you ask me.

** This is brought to perhaps its ultimate height in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'', in large part since the game is largely meant to wrap up remaining plot threads. {{spoiler|1=At first, it appears there are three sides - which is already complicated. Namely, there's Liquid's Outer Heaven Corp, which runs several dummy PMCs in an armed rebellion against the shadowy Patriots who control the world. Stuck in-between is Philanthropy, most notably Snake and Otacon, who aren't really fond of either group. However, since Liquid basically wants to take over the world for himself and not in the subtle kind of way that the Patriots do, the heroes decide to associate themselves with the Patriots goals - though without ever making contact because the Patriots are really, at this point, just a bunch of non-sapient [[Artificial Intelligence|AIs]]. Confused yet? It then turns out there's a ''fourth'' faction - the Paradise Lost Army, led by Big Mama, who's really EVA from ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]''. She wants to stop Liquid, like the heroes, but is more openly opposed to the Patriots at the same time. After a whole bunch of shenanigans and crazy battles that get lots of people killed it turns out that, in fact, Liquid was himself allied with the Paradise Lost Army and that he wasn't really Liquid, but rather, Ocelot (supposedly Liquid had taken control of Ocelot's body but this turned out to be false). Together, Ocelot and Big Mama executed a crazed [[Batman Gambit]] to trick the Patriots into becoming desperate enough to try and destroy one of the supercomputers that composed them - but in doing so they let the heroes plant a worm that destroyed the entire network. This all turned out to be a rather complicated plot to destroy the Patriots and free Big Boss, who'd been trapped in a state of [[And I Must Scream]]}}.

* Similarly, Baramos of ''[[Dragon Quest III]]'' is played up as the villain of the game, and you spend about 80% of the game -- orgame—or what would feel like a normal full RPG of the time -- huntingtime—hunting him down, only to have Baramos's boss, Zoma, call you out out of the blue after starting the victory party.

* ''[[Super Smash Bros.]] Brawl'' takes this to ridiculous extents: {{spoiler|Wario}} was being directed by {{spoiler|Bowser and Ganondorf}}, who also manipulate {{spoiler|the Ancient Minister}} (who also directs {{spoiler|the R.O.B. Squad}}, the forefront of {{spoiler|the Subspace Army}}, which is created by manipulating {{spoiler|Mr. Game & Watch}}), but in turn are being given orders by {{spoiler|Master Hand}}, who is being manipulated by {{spoiler|some weird energy being that resembles "Tron" called Tabuu}}. Holy bejeezus.

* ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'' features ''two'' of these in the same scene. Upon arriving in the Tower Of Salvation for the first time, {{spoiler|Remiel reveals his oh-so-obvious villainous nature to you and tries to pull a [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]] on you -- and fails. Then Kratos suddenly appears and reveals that he's Remiel's superior and has been [[The Mole]] all along to keep an eye on you, leaving Remiel to [[You Have Failed Me...|bleed to death on the floor for his failure]]. Regardless of which way the ensuing battle goes, Kratos' own boss, Yggdrasill, reveals himself at the end of the battle because Kratos is holding back and [[Hopeless Boss Fight|plays merry hell with the party]] to finish the job.}}

* In ''[[Warhammer 40000]]40,000|Warhammer 40,000: [[Dawn of War]]'', the campaign starts as an apparent defense against an Ork invasion. However, it is soon revealed that a Chaos force is having the Orks run interference. Then within the Chaos force, it becomes clear that {{spoiler|Chaos Sorcerer Sindri Myr and not the "primary commander" Chaos Lord Bale}} is the one really pulling the strings, masterminding the operation to his own gain. {{spoiler|Beyond that, in the final cutscene it's suggested that even Sindri was a pawn to the daemon locked in the Malectidum.}}

* ''[[Kirby]]'': There's almost always someone behind [[Kirby|King Dedede]]'s attacks. And sometimes someone behind the one who is behind Dedede's attacks.

* The final boss of ''[[Overlord]]'' is [[The Man Behind the Man]]. If that doesn't sound interesting then keep in mind {{spoiler|you're the [[The Dragon|man he was behind]] in the first place}}.

* In ''[[EarthboundEarthBound]]'', {{spoiler|the protagonist's 12-year-old neighbor is controlling the "cosmic destroyer," in a case of [[Enfante Terrible]]. In [[Mother 3|the ]][[No Export for You|Japanese-only ]] sequel ''[[Mother 3|sequel ]]'', he is arguably a [[Magnificent Bastard]], as well}}.

* ''[[Jade Empire]]'' has two, with Death's Hand first appearing to be a bad guy acting on his own, and then {{spoiler|revealing he has been acting on the Emperor's orders all along and the Emperor was the one who set up the death of the Water Dragon and the upsetting of the balance in the first place}}, and then once you defeat ''him'' {{spoiler|your kindly old Master Li wanders in, reveals that this was all part of his [[Evil Plan]] to get vengeance on his brother, and kills you}}, and it turns out that ''he'' is the final boss after all that.

* ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'' has The Men Behind The Men--theMen—the main antagonist for most of the series of Moebius, who is the controlling force behind the Sarafan and other vampire hunters, and is also a controlling force in the Circle of Nine. However, {{spoiler|he's [[The Dragon]] to the Elder God, who is also the force that motivated the Ancients to war with the Hylden}}. Moebius' accomplice is Mortanius, the [[Big Bad]] of the first game until we find out {{spoiler|he was acting under the possession of the Hylden Lord, who returns as the [[Big Bad]] of Blood Omen II where he leads the second incarnation of the Sarafan}}.

* {{spoiler|Izanami}} of ''[[Persona 4]]'' is revealed to be behind everything in the True Ending. The kicker? {{spoiler|She was disguised as [[Chekhov's Gunman|THE''the GASgas STATIONstation ATTENDANTattendant FORfor THEthe ENTIREentire GAMEgame'', until you question the attendant and her identity is revealed.]]}}

** Oh, that's just the end of it. {{spoiler|You first find out that Nametame was the one kidnapping all the characters you've been trying to rescue, but then it turns out he was just being manipulated by Adachi, who was the one who committed the first two murders that started the game. But then after you beat him, he gets taken over by a giant disco eyeball named Ameno-sagiri who claims to have done all this to "grant mankind its true desires." But THEN''then'' it turns out Izanami was behind it all, creating the Midnight Channel, the shadows, and giving the protagonist, Nametame and Adachi their powers as part of her grand social experiment.}}

* In ''[[Pokémon Black and White]]'', {{spoiler|N is supposedly the boss of Team Plasma. However, it is revealed at the end that Ghetsis was pulling the strings the whole time.}}

** In ''[[Pokémon]] Colosseum'', Nascour is built up to be the [[Big Bad]] of the game. However, the true [[Big Bad]] is really {{spoiler|Mayor Es Cade,}} or Evice, as he calls himself during [[The Reveal]]. This actually has a very sigificantsignificant moment of [[Foreshadowing]] in the beginning. {{spoiler|Notice how Nascour casually walks out of Es Cade's house before you talk with him.}}

** [[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon|''PokemonMysteryDungeonPokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky'']]: Dusknoir is actually working for [[Disc One Final Boss|Primal Dialga]], who in turn is being manipulated by {{spoiler|Darkrai.}}

** ''[[Fire Emblem Jugdral]]'' has {{spoiler|Manfroy, who was behind the actions of [[Evil Chancellor|Reptor]], [[Smug Snake|Sandima]], [[The Usurper|Chagall]], [[Utopia Justifies the Means|Alvis]], and [[Dragon-in-Chief|Yurius]], with most of that being all at the same time!}}

* In ''[[First Encounter Assault Recon|F.E.A.R.]]'', Paxton Fettel is presented as the game's primary villain. However, the real enemy is {{spoiler|his mother, Alma, who is psychically controlling him and directing him to locate and free her. And [[The Stinger|it is revealed that Paxton Fettel is the Point Man's brother, making Alma the mother of the main character as well]]. Holy bejeezus.}}

* In ''[[Dungeon Siege]]|Dungeon Siege 2]]'', {{spoiler|the Archmage turns out to not only be behind Valdis's actions, but also behind YOUR actions by disguising himself as Mr.Exposition}}.

* In ''[[Luminous Arc 2]]'', at first {{spoiler|Master Mattias}} was build up to be a villain along with Fatima. However, later in the game, {{spoiler|Bharva}} was revealed to be [[The Man Behind the Man]] and was responsible for {{spoiler|the fire that killed Rina and Steiner's parents and give suggestions to started the Runic Engine research}} in order to kill all humans. {{spoiler|Behind ''him'' is Mage Queen Elicia from 4000 years ago, whose research in life gives her immortality and created the Beast Fiends}}.

* The ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' franchise does this a LOT. Take, for instance, ''[[Sonic Adventure 2]]'': it's not a perfect example, but [[{{spoiler:|out of the three "bad guys", one is just trying to avenge the death of a loved one, one is working with Eggman because it involves jewel theft, and the other (Eggman himself)... ends up working with the good guys to stop ''[[The Chessmaster|his own grandfather's plan to destroy Earth]]'', which revolved around Eggman's plan the whole time.}} This final mission also happens to involve a [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere]] and a good ol'-fashioned [[The Plan|plan.]]

** The same game has a straighter example with {{spoiler|Shadow being [[The Man Behind the Man]] for Eggman}}.

* ''[[Legend of Dragoon]]'' first starts off with Dart's girlfriend being captured and imprisonnedimprisoned. When he arrives at her place of capture he is quickly introduced to a man named Frugel, who is the cruel warden of Helena prison. After defeating him Dart learns that he in fact takes orders from Emperor Doel, who lives in the Black Castle of Kazas. Doel also is taking orders from a man named Lloyd, who is acting as "[[The Dragon]]" for Emperor Diaz. Emperor Diaz is revealed to actually be {{spoiler|Dart's father, Zieg Feld,}} who plays the part of the main antagonist for the rest of the game up until the final boss, {{spoiler|Melbu Frahma, who was posessing Zieg the entire time}}.

* "Craig" from ''[[Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People|Strong Bads Cool Game for Attractive People]]''.

* In [[Epic Mickey]], [[Oswald the Lucky Rabbit|Oswald]] reveals that all of the Blotlings [[Mickey Mouse|Mickey]] fought, including the [[Living Shadow|Shadow Blot]], were all {{spoiler|drippings from the [[Eldritch Abomination|REAL''real'' Shadow Blot]], who was [[Sealed Evil in a Can|imprisoned inside a bottle]] on the summit of Mickeyjunk Mountain.}}

* In ''[[Sam and Max]]|Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse]]'', it is revealed that the true mastermind of the events of the third season is not Skun-ka'pe, not Papierwaite, not [[Eldritch Abomination|Yog Soggoth]], and not even [[Fluffy the Terrible|Junior]]. It is Max's super-ego, the narrator of the game, who got tired waiting for Max to discover his cultured side (Max is all id).

* ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' was '''the''' face of the [[PlayStation]] in its lifespan, often being considered the unofficial mascot of it and a major rival to [[Super Mario 64|Mario]]. However, the genetically-modified marsupial wasn't the reason the [[PlayStation]] won the fifth-generation [[Console Wars]]--though—though he did play a big part in it, the [[PlayStation]] won more because of its reliance on the CD-ROM format and the fact that it tapped into the young-adult gaming market, with third-party exclusives like ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' and ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' overshadowing and outlasting Crash for years to come.

* ''[[Age of Mythology]]'' has several levels of this. The initially presented villain is Kamos the pirate, who turns out to be working for the cyclops warlord Gargarensis. Gargarensis is getting divine backing from {{spoiler|Poseidon}}, and they're both working to free their ultimate master {{spoiler|the Titan Kronos, who if freed has promised to give Poseidon the power to defeat Zeus, and make Gargarensis immortal}}.

* The end chapter of ''[[The Witcher]]'' reveals The Man Behind The Man, necessitating an Epilogue chapter to deal with him.

* In ''[[Resident Evil]]'', [[Big Bad|Albert Wesker]] is revealed to have been [[The Man Behind the Man]] to many of the events in ''[[Resident Evil 0Zero]]'', ''[[Resident Evil 1]]'', ''[[Resident Evil 4]]'', and ''[[Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles]]''. ''Umbrella Chronicles'' also reveals, that Wesker's [[The Rival|rival]], [[Former Regime Personnel|Sergei Vladimir]] was [[The Man Behind the Man]] to much of ''[[Resident Evil 2]]'', ''[[Resident Evil 3: Nemesis]]'', and the rest of ''Umbrella Chronicles''. At the end of the day, most the series' plot up until then is the result of the war between these two men for control of [[Mega Corp|Umbrella]]'s remnants. As [[Tyke Bomb|Wesker]]'s [[Evilutionary Biologist|creator]], [[Dragon-in-Chief|Sergei]]'s [[Undying Loyalty|employer]], and [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] to the entire corporation, [[Evil Old Folks|Ozwell]] [[Evil Cripple|E.]] [[Non-Action Big Bad|Spencer]] can be said to be [[The Man Behind the Man]] (and [[The Man Behind the Curtain]]) to the entire series (up until [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder|Wesker]] [[Hijacked by Ganon|offs]] him in ''[[Resident Evil 5]]'').

** It goes even behind that. In ''[[Mortal Kombat: Deception]]'', although foreshadowing had hinted at it in earlier games, we are faced with the resurrection and revival of {{spoiler|Onaga, the Dragon King, former ruler of Outworld. The one Shao Kahn was formally an advisor too, and who he killed so he could take his throne.}}

* ''[[Dragon Age]]: Awakening'' reveals that {{spoiler|the Architect, a sapient darkspawn trying to "free" his kind and give them free will, awakened Urthemiel, [[Big Bad]] of ''Origins'', and caused the Fifth Blight. Unusually, this was accidental; the Architect is trying to ''stop'' the Blights, and inadvertently tainted Urthemiel while trying to "free" him. [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|Nice job breaking it, antivillain.]]}}

* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword|The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword]]'', {{spoiler|The Imprisoned/Demise}} is this for Lord Ghirahim. Not that Ghirahim keeps it a secret that he's not the one in charge. {{spoiler|Demise is this for ''Ganon'' as well by way of the latter being an incarnation of the former's hatred}}.

** {{spoiler|The Imprisoned/Demise is presumably also this for Vaati, Majora, Malladus, Bellum and every other [[Big Bad]] in the series as well, his curse was for an incarnation of his hatred to follow all future versions of Link and Zelda for all time}}

* {{spoiler|Julius,}} from ''[[Final Fantasy Adventure]]'' / ''[[Sword of Mana]]''.

* In ''[[Dark Souls]]'', {{spoiler|Gwyndolin}} is the one secretly behind Gwynevere, {{spoiler|withe the Gwynevere you face actually being an illusion. Gwyndolin is using her to manipulate the Undead into linking the fire, so then he can ruling through her by proxy.}}

* ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'': Torg (the hero) himself becomes [[The Man Behind the Man]] to the [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|wannabe]] [[Diabolical Mastermind]] Minion Master, while convincing the Minion Master that he's his minion. He's secretly using the Minion Master to obtain the technology to rescue his friends, and manipulating the Minion Master to take out other supervillains rather than do evil. Then the whole pattern gets more complicated with more serious villains getting involved, and more men hiding behind each other ensues.

** It turns out that {{spoiler|Redcloak}} is this to {{spoiler|Xykon}}. He ''acts'' submissive and weak and serves the role as {{spoiler|Xykon}}'s toady while actually manipulating him to his own ends.

** The [[God of Evil|Dark One]] is this to [[High Priest|Redcloak]] -- every—every action Redcloak takes is to fulfill the Dark One's Plan to insure that the goblin races are granted equality.

* Semi-invoked in ''[[Broken Saints]]'': The two [[Chessmaster|Chessmasters]]s behind the Big Plan are presented as equal threats, only differing in that one stays more mysterious for longer than the other. Then, naturally, it turns out the more mysterious one, {{spoiler|Lear, was just manipulating his more active partner Palmer, whom the heroes thought was the [[Big Bad]]. Lear betrays and murders Palmer, revealing himself to be the real [[Big Bad]].}}

* {{spoiler|Metus}} to the Skrall in ''[[Bionicle]]''.

* When former [[Big Bad]] Slade comes [[Back Fromfrom the Dead]] on ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'', it soon becomes apparent that someone or something is pulling his strings this time around, confirmed at the end of the episode "Birthmark" when he is shown kneeling to an unseen figure and calling it "master". {{spoiler|It turns out to be [[Dark Magical Girl|Raven's]] demonic father, [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Trigon the Terrible]].}}

* In the first season of ''[[X-Men: Evolution]]'', Magneto is this to Mystique, who is in turn the [[Man Behind the Man]] to the Brotherhood as far as the X-men are concerned (though both the viewer and Xavier knew about her from the start, and the viewer knew Magneto was meddling from the end of the first episode). Later on, Apocalypse is the man behind Mesmero.

* Charles Martel was the maior domus of the merovingianMerovingian kings and the true man in power of the Frankish Kingdom. After his death, his job went to his sons Carloman and Pepin, the later eventually becommingbecoming the actual King of the Franks. He was such a [[Magnificent Bastard]] that the carolingianCarolingian dynasty wasn't named after Pepins son Charlemagne, who would become the most famous member of the family and one of the greatest ruler of Europe, but after Charles Martel himself, even though the family gained the throne more than 10 years after his death. But everyone knew that he had been the real ruler of the Franks all along.

* [[Rasputin|Grigori Rasputin]] was thought to be the man behind Tsar Nicholas II through Tsaritsa Alexandra.

* The king of this trope in contemporary times (with Vladimir Putin, for whom see below) is [[Peter Mandelson]], [[Knight Fever|Baron Mandelson]], who is not called (by enemies and [[Appropriated AppelationAppellation|friends]] alike) the "[[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Prince of Darkness]]" for nothing. One of the chief spin doctors for the [[British Political System|Labour Party]] starting in the late '80s, he described ''himself'' as "the man behind Kinnock, the man behind [[Tony Blair|Blair]], and, yes, the man behind [[Gordon Brown|Brown]]." It should be noted that he ''hated'' Brown (who returned the favour). Combines this with [[Magnificent Bastard]] in ways truly incredible.

** In this case it's more 'Woman' behind the Man. Alexander the Great accomplished...well, great things, creating an empire that spanned three continents. The driving force that allowed him to accomplish all that was his mother, Olympias. It was her claim that she had been impregnated by Zeus himself that stopped people from questioning Alexander's rise to the throne. It's highly suspected that she ordered the assassination of her ex-husband, the King of Macedon Philip II, and we know for a fact she then had his second wife and their two children killed to assure no one rivaled Alexander's right as King. So while Alexander was King and off conquering distant lands, Olympias had free reign of the homeland, being able to do whatever she wanted and having unprecedented political power for a woman considering the times. After the death of Alexander in Babylon a civil war broke out in Macedon about who the next regent ruler would be. While initially not taking part, Olympias soon saw that Alexander's son, her grandchild, may lose his claim to the throne, so she threw her power and loyal forces against the opposing sides. She conquered most of Macedon and had Philip III, half brother of her late son, murdered along with hundreds of other people. Eventually she lost and was executed for everything she had done.

** Not exactly -- Medvedevexactly—Medvedev has never quite established Villain credentials, and observers pointed out years before that Putin was grooming him for the Presidency.

* Although Emperor Hirohito was the head of the Japanese forces, many military ministers often pressure him to go to war in WWII. The idea that Hirohito was a powerless figurehead has long been discredtieddiscredited, and was in fact a conspiracy perpetrated by General MacArthur so that Japan could retain a monarchy and thus not fall to Communism. While the Emperor was historically merely a puppet that changed with the fall of the Shogunate, which gave the throne limited but real power. Hirohito was certainly not a pacificstpacifist and did he did agree with the planned invasions of China and Asia, and numerous other acts of war. In this he was not [[The Man Behind the Man]] but just someone who happened to agree with his militant military staff, though he had to deal with whatever faction happened to put itself forward at the time. Men like General Toga, though far from innocent, were patsies to the myth to give the world someone to blame other than the Emperor. Hirohito was kept well informed of most military and state matters, and had a fair amount of input. Virtually every high-ranking officer stated afterwards that if the Emperor gave an order to end the war, or stop the atrocities, they would have obeyed him. While he was in a different position from [[Adolf Hitler]] and was neither an absolute dictator nor the ultimate architecht of Japanese aggression, he was broadly of a mind with the radical imperialists.

** However, it's not like this is much of a secret- it doesn't take much research into the Iranian government to figure out that the Supreme Leader, the highest-ranked cleric in the country, actually holds the real power. Unfortunately, most people just hear "president" and assume "Commander-in-Chief".

** Before him, chancellor [[Otto Von Bismark]] played his king like a fiddle, just [[Chessmaster|just like everybody else.]]

* To be honest, most controversalcontroversial political leaders can be catagorizedcategorized as being this, or below it, in some way. Mao of Communist China, and Stalin of the Soviet Union, including their contributions to Socialism in the forms of Maoism and Stalinism, ''claim'' to be branches of Marxist-Leninist roots, which make Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin examples of this trope for left wing politics.

*** It seems now, that any controversalcontroversial Conservative Prime Minister, will automatically be stereotyped in this light to portray Margaret Thatcher as this trope to whoever in the party is currently in power.

* [[The Mafia|The Genovese Family]] made it a habit to appoint a 'front boss' from the fifties onward to distract law enforcement as well as rival families from the ''actual'' boss. In one case that actual boss was Vincente Gigante [[The Dog Was the Mastermind|who pretentedpretended to be insane by walking the streets of New York while muttering to himself]].