History Main / DragonTheirFeet

* The next act of ''Literature/InAnotherWorldWithMySmartphone'' [[spoiler:involves The Wicked Devout's five Generals Indigo, Scarlet, Hazel, Tangerine and Orchid. They all serve and worship the Wicked God before becoming deities themselves after eating the dust of the Wicked God's remains. They all acted as ''de facto'' {{The Dragon}}s to the Wicked God, due to them having close-cut loyalties to him, but throughout the story they were never mentioned or made an appearance even in the battle with the Wicked God against the World Alliance led by Touya. After the Wicked God fell during the climatic battle, they later become the new BigBad in their attempts to fulfill the Wicked God's mission, as well as planning to revive him through a new vessel and plotting another goal of world destruction.]]

* The next act of ''Literature/InAnotherWorldWithMySmartphone'' involves [[spoiler:The Wicked Devout's five Generals]], who all worship the Wicked God [[spoiler:before becoming deities themselves after eating the dust of a Mutant Phrase remains.]] They all acted as ''de facto'' {{The Dragon}}s to the Wicked God, due to them having close-cut loyalties to him. After the Wicked God fell during the climatic battle with Touya and the entire World Alliance, they later become the new BigBad [[spoiler:in their attempts to fulfill the Wicked God's mission, as well as planning to revive him through a new vessel and plotting another goal of world destruction.]]

** While Magneto is captured at the end of ''Film/XMen1'', his right-hand woman Mystique escapes and later [[BreakingOutTheBoss frees Magneto early in the next film.

** ''Film/{{Logan}}'': While Logan dispatches [[spoiler:Dr. Zander Rice quickly in the FinalBattle, his right-hand man Pierce is still around and unleashes the EvilKnockoff X-24 to take him out. This gets taken further when the mutant kids kill Pierce and X-24 is the only bad guy left standing; he kills Logan but then gets killed by X-23.]]

* Sebastian Moran from the ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' stories. After Holmes defeats Moriarty in ''The Final Problem'', Moran shows up to start chucking rocks at his head. After Holmes escapes, he shows up ''[[TheDeterminator three years later]]'' in ''The Adventure of the Empty House'', hell-bent on shooting Holmes in the face. He's implied to be {{Avenging the Villain}}.

* In the first Literature/ErastFandorin novel, ''Literature/TheWinterQueen'', he barely survives the encounter with that book's Dragon (ProfessionalKiller Achimas Welde). Then after he destroys the BigBad, the Dragon comes after him, kills his wife on the day of their wedding, and disappears again. In the fourth novel, ''Literature/TheDeathOfAchilles'', the Dragon returns for the final time as a full-fledged BigBad himself.

* In Lynn Flewelling's ''[[Literature/{{Nightrunner}} Tamír Trilogy]]'', [[TheChessmaster the wizard Niryn]] is set up as the primary villain. [[spoiler: However, he gets [[DroppedABridgeOnHim shoved off a tower]] by his angry ex-girlfriend midway through the last book.]] So...the final antagonist ends up being the [[BrainwashedAndCrazy mentally disturbed]] and [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain rather pitiable]] [[TheDragon King Korin]], who was really [[EvilChancellor Niryn's patsy]].

* More of a case of "{{Mook}} Their Feet", but Father Gomez pulls this at the end of ''Literature/TheAmberSpyglass''.
* Happens in an odd way in ''Literature/WarriorCats''. Tigerstar, the BigBad, becomes Brokenstar's dragon. However, since Tigerstar is eternally the true BigBad, in ''The Last Hope'', [[spoiler: he shows up after Brokenstar's death as the final villain.]]

* Interestingly [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in the GrandFinale of ''Literature/NewJediOrder''. In the big final battle, Luke has an epic duel to the death with [[BigBad Supreme Overlord Shimrra]], which is immediately followed by Jacen and Jaina cornering Shimrra's much-abused [[TheDragon Dragon]] Onimi... but it is right at this moment that it is revealed [[spoiler:[[TheBigBadShuffle the reader's idea of who is Big Bad and who is Dragon has been completely backwards]]. Shimrra is, in reality, [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Onimi's]] psionically-controlled PuppetKing, and that awesome final duel was actually just Onimi releasing control and leaving his puppet to die at Luke's hand as a distraction while [[VillainExitStageLeft he escapes in the confusion]]. Effectively, Shimrra was the ClimaxBoss to Onimi's NonActionBigBad.]]
* At the end of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', [[BigBad Voldemort's]] "most faithful servant" shows up to try to kill Harry after the kid escapes Voldemort. This Death Eater's critical mistake is that he wastes time with a JustBetweenYouAndMe speech, giving Dumbledore and company a chance to come to the rescue.
* ''Literature/DeGriezelbus'': Subverted. Beentjes survives the demise of Onnoval in the second book, but he decides not to go after the heroes and jumps into a grave. Of course, that doesn't stop him from returning in the next book to continue serving his master.

* Peru-ha, the BigBad of Filipino series ''Series/JuanDelaCruz'', gets defeated and lost most of her power (and minions) before the series even ended. She uses the last of her power instead to remove the ''Anak ng Dilim'' from the eponymous character's body, becoming his EnemyWithout, who then becomes the actual FinalBoss.

* ''VideoGame/AbyssCrossing'': The main antagonist, [[spoiler:Siro, enlisted the aid of her sister, Kuro, to concentrate magical elements into the Astras, throwing the multiverse into chaos. However, Kuro doesn't assist Siro in the FinalBoss fight and instead waits for the party in the optional Unexplored Labyrinth.]]
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'': [[spoiler: Connor's fight with Charles Lee doesn't occur until after Haytham's death. Justified, as Connor's vendetta was against Lee since he mistakenly blamed Lee for the fire that killed his mother.]]
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins'': ZigZagged [[spoiler:Septimius was technically presented as the Dragon to Flavius, who Bayek assassinates before he fight between Aya and Septimius.]]

* One of the possible endings for ''VideoGame/WayOfTheSamurai 2'' featured the BigBad's PsychoForHire, Kyojiro Kagenuma, dropping by to fight you AFTER you've defeated and killed her boss. But then again, she's more 'Psycho' than 'For Hire', and only really followed him in the first place, because he gave her plenty of opportunities to kill people. (One of those possible endings is actually a bit of a subversion - she shows up at the Good Guys 'victory party' to fight you - but you've already left to [[WalkingTheEarth Walk The Earth]] again, so instead, she simply slaughters everybody there, including your temporary love-interest, and drinks their blood while crying for you to come back and fight her...)
** Also, take too long to find her, and you'll come [[PlayerPunch right after she has impaled said love interest to the ground]], and later dying on your arms (the love interest). Note, the LoveInterest is an ActionGirl who is actually quite competent as far as allies go. Kyojiro is just that ''damn'' [[ThatOneBoss good]].
*** It should be noted that Kyojiro, in her own way, has a monster crush on the protagonist, and those bloody actions are her way of getting his attention. She even, at one point, tells you "I like you so much, I could just hack you into little pieces...!". Yandere much? Yeeeeaaaaahhhh...
* In the original ''[[VideoGame/DragonQuestI Dragon Quest]]'''s publicity material claims the dragon battled after the pansy Dragonlord/Dracolord, is a trained superdragon he learned how to control when he was living in a cave. This is contradicted within the game itself though, where he [[OneWingedAngel turns into said dragon instead.]]
* The arcade shoot'em up game ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'' is also an example. Two thirds through the game, Miller manages to kill BigBad Garo in a fairly anticlimactic battle. His mercenary Dragon, [[TheDeterminator Wild Dog]], then takes command and tries to finish his job to make up for not being paid.
** Though Wild Dog would return in ''Time Crisis 2-5'' as a more traditional [[TheDragon Dragon]]. Even when it seems like he won't. Apparently he wears an explosion-proof vest.
* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' ultimately does this more than once - the game initially builds up the BigBad to be the Empress of Valua, with TheDragon as Galcian. Eventually, it's revealed that Galcian was the one manipulating things in the first place and he too comes with his own Dragon, Ramirez. Galcian ultimately [[spoiler:kills the Empress and much of the population of Valua]], thus seating himself as the actual BigBad. However, [[spoiler:instead of you taking out TheDragon and defeating Galcian afterwards, the game reverses this as Galcian attacks you first - leaving Ramirez to defend his superweapon instead. After Galcian is killed during his escape, Ramirez goes insane and tries to destroy the world as his revenge, leading to Ramirez becoming the final boss fight of the game.]]
* This is the case in the first ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireI'' game. Jade, seemingly TheDragon, is the one [[ItsPersonalWithTheDragon you have the biggest grudge against]], since he personally captured and brainwashed your sister, and he survives his boss Zog to resurrect the [[SealedEvilInACan goddess Tyr]]. However, he was probably planning this from the start anyway, so he may qualify as the ManBehindTheMan, even though Zog ''also'' planned to resurrect the goddess Tyr and use her to acquire ultimate power.
** Yuna in the fourth game is a more typical example. He and Yohm are setup as Dragons to Soniel. After Soniel's death, Yohm goes on to serve Fou-Lu and fight against the party at the start of the final dungeon. But Yuna is nowhere to be found and is very much alive in the game's ending, [[KarmaHoudini unpunished for the BodyHorror he inflicted on Nina's sister.]]
* ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfBayouBilly'' has you chasing and confronting a villain named Godfather Gordon. When you beat him, his bodyguards Rocky and Rocko appear: they serve as the game's final battle. While this at first makes them look completely incompetent at their job, this is actually justified: [[DragonWithAnAgenda they were actually plotting to take over Gordon's crime syndicate,]] [[AllThereInTheManual and deliberately allowed you to take him out.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Unreal}}'' there's an implication that the Warlord you encounter a couple of times (and kill) is some sort of royal guard for the Queen and the Skaarj mothership, but in [[ExpansionPack Return to Na Pali]] you encounter another one as the FinalBoss who is hardly referenced at all and was nowhere to be seen in the mothership.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
** In the first ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', Revolver Ocelot is conspicuously absent for the big smackdown against Liquid Snake....if by 'conspicuously absent' you mean coming down with a case of ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere running far, far away]].
** Revolver Ocelot is guilty of this trope ''several times'' throughout the ''Metal Gear Solid'' series. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', Revolver Ocelot is the Dragon for Solidus Snake, but is absent near the end of the game because [[spoiler: he was a double agent working for The Patriots]], and in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', Major Ocelot is one of Colonel Volgin's most trusted men, and yet [[spoiler: [[TheStarscream he outright betrays him during his fight with Snake]]]] because [[spoiler: he was also a double agent, sent by the US to assist Snake]].

* ''VideoGame/OgreBattle'' has many examples, but the most obvious is in Tactics Ogre. Xaebos plays this role to the Galgastani remnants, whose main leader has either stabbed himself or been sufficiently guillotined off-screen.
* In ''VideoGame/TombRaiderII'', the BigBad turns himself into a giant Chinese dragon and is fought and killed by Lara in a massive boss battle in the game's ''second to last'' level. In the last level, Lara is relaxing at home when the BigBad's remaining men crash through the front door, led by the BigBad's 8-foot tall, dual-shotgun-wielding TheDragon.
* Duran, TheDragon to Kerrigan is conspicuously absent from ''VideoGame/StarcraftBroodWar's'' final battle. Finishing the game's secret mission reveals [[spoiler: he was TheMole for a fourth faction all along, and has now returned to his true masters.]]
* This happens in the "true ending" path of ''[[VideoGame/{{Contra}} Contra: Hard Corps]]''. You defeat the BigBad at the end of the 2nd to last level. At the beginning of the last level, TheDragon shows up to fight you. When you point out that his boss is dead, he replies that he doesn't care and just likes fighting.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', Zagi is at least temporarily the Dragon for every villain except for Cumore and [[spoiler:Alexei]], who share Yeager as their Dragon. Yeager's Dragon, of course, would be Zagi.
* Sort of happens in ''VideoGame/WarioLandII'', where after going through the game, fighting the BigBad multiple times and going through the secret worlds, the very final level ends with a battle against TheDragon (the giant spear man) on an invisible floor.
* This happens in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}''. You kill the BigBad in a ClimaxBoss fight about 4/5ths of the way through the game, and her "offspring" the Supreme Hunter then spends the rest of the game [[spoiler:[[ThePlan manipulating you to destroy Blackwatch]] and allow the city to be nuked, so the Supreme Hunter can escape undetected and restart the infection elsewhere.]]
* Happens twice in ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant''. First with Nicolai and Rasputin, then with Kato and Ishimura.

** PlayedWith in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' due to the GreyAndGrayMorality of the game, but [[spoiler: on the Crimson Flower route, Ashe and Annette, if not recruited prior to the timskip, will outlive Dimitri and command the remnants of the Knights of Faerghus in the final battle.]]
* A common theme in ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' is that the BigBad and main instigator of the current problem is killed off in the penultimate mission, with the finale being something of a mop-up mission. In ''Splinter Cell'' it takes place in a {{DLC}}, while in ''Double Agent'' it's a bonus level for achieving the full ending.
* This is fairly common in the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' universe, especially in the [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft MMO]].
** Rend Blackhand was chief lieutenant to Orgrim Doomhammer during the Second War. During the climactic battle which saw the Horde defeated, Rend and his clan were sent to deal with Gul'dan. After a few final skirmishes with the Alliance, Rend and his remaining allies retreated to Blackrock Spire. Decades later, Rend has proclaimed himself the [[TheRemnant Warchief of the Horde]] in opposition to Thrall. However, his battle is doomed to failure and he is little more than a minor lieutenant to Nefarion.
** Kargath Bladefist was a major player in the Second War but remained largely on Draenor. After its destruction and his corruption by fel energy, he declared himself Warchief of the "True Horde". Ultimately, he and the Fel Horde were easily dismantled by heroes.
* As possibly a homage to ''Film/JamesBond'', this happens in ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever''. ''Three times''. After Kate storms the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon and defeats her ArchEnemy, Volkov, she goes to a quiet Swiss village to contact her superiors, where she's surprised by TheBaroness. After The Baroness is dealt with, it looks like the game is over... until TheMole shows up and challenges her to a one-on-one shootout because you killed his employer, thus preventing him from getting the big, fat paycheck he worked so hard for. After beating The Mole, ''another'' Mole shows up and is promptly dealt with in a cutscene after explaining the entire plot of the game.
* This is the entire premise of ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2 Yuri's Revenge]]''. When the Allies won the war and caught Romanov, Yuri slipped away somewhere else. A few months after the war, he's back - [[VillainWorld and he's a few minutes away from total world domination via mindcontrol]]. Unluckily for him, the Allies have an ace in the hole, San Francisco is still not under Yuri's control and they have a time machine to send themselves back in time to undo Yuri's plan.
* As TheChessmaster, Porky of the ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' series has a habit of leaving his dragons around to wreak havoc with the protagonists after he's defeated. [[spoiler: First Giygas, then Claus.]]
** While it can be argued Porky was the [[CoDragons Co-Dragon]] to the mindless [[spoiler:Giygas]], The Masked Man [[spoiler:(Claus)]] features this trope outright. The mind control placed on him is so steadfast that not even Porky being [[spoiler:sealed away in the Absolutely Safe Capsule]] stops the Masked Man from following his programming; to [[spoiler:attempt to pull the final Needle, and destroy anyone trying to stop him.]]
* In ''VideoGame/GodHand'', this happens when you beat Belze to find that TheDragon of the group, Azel, has left for his own plans of world domination, tired of the failings of the demons. [[spoiler:He did not realize [[ThePlan Belze planned to use Azel]] as a sacrifice to summon Satan, which actually worked.]]

* Should you find [[spoiler: True]] Episode 18 of ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'', Asura and Yasha return to Mithra after besting Gohma Vlitra [[spoiler: only to find Olga, who has been absent from the field ever since her fleet was decimated by Asura in Episode 12, try to kill Mithra. Though it is never explained what she was doing when her leader, Deus, was killed, she arrives to kill Mithra as revenge for Deus' defeat...and then she is [[DroppedABridgeOnHim killed by the Golden Spider.]]]]

* In ''VideoGame/TouhouChireidenSubterraneanAnimism'', Komeiji Satori, the leader of the boss group (calling her a BigBad is a bit misleading) appears in the ''fourth'' of six stages. The two final stage bosses, Kaenbyou Rin and Reiuji Utsuho are Satori's "pets."

* The Terminal Guardian pulls a variant of this in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV''. He was the guy who set [[PocketDimension Domains]] in [[PortalNetwork Terminals]] across Tokyo on behalf of the LawfulEvil Ashura-Kai. After you tear the organization apart, he keeps doing it - even if they are gone, it's still his job, dammit!
* If Mike gains sufficient respect with [[spoiler:Conrad Marburg]] in ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' he can manage to do this. [[spoiler:Marburg won't fight Mike inside the Greybox and instead show up after the FinalBoss fight when you've got Leland dead to rights... [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere Only to shake his head and walk off]], leaving Leland just as badly off.]]
* In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'', [[spoiler: it turns out Kravchenko outlived Dragovich by more than 20 years and ends up leading part of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In fact, Dragovich isn't mentioned at all in ''Black Ops 2'', with Woods blaming Mason's condition solely on Kravchenko (granted, Woods never met Dragovich, so this kinda makes sense).]]

* In ''VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII'', you defeat Arcanette, the true leader of Moonshade Order, before personally meeting up with Oboro, who is one of the key members of the Order. You don't get to fight him, though, as he sacrifices himself to resurrect Vide.
* A retroactive example in ''[[VideoGame/{{Oddworld}} Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus]]''. When the [[BigBadDuumvirate Big Bads]] are introduced at the beginning of the second disc, we learn they were the former subordinates of Mullock, the first game's BigBad, who are now at a loss of what to do with the loss of their boss.

* In ''VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception'', [[spoiler: the BigBad Marlowe is killed by being buried alive in quicksand as Iram of the Pillairs is collapsing (caused directly by the heroes). Just as they're about to escape, her Dragon Talbot attacks Nate in a RoaringRampageOfRevenge and is defeated.]]

* During the ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' side mode ''Heroes in Another Dimension'', you fight the Three Mage Sisters after you defeat Hyness, reversing the order they were fought in the main game.

* Ultimately the case in ''VideoGame/BattleTech2018'', where Director Santiago Espionsa surrenders, but [[DaddysLittleVillain his daughter Victoria]] refuses to go quietly and forces the player's unit to face her as their final battle of the campaign. It's strongly implied that [[IveComeTooFar she can't accept that all the horrible things she did for her father]] ended up being AllForNothing, and wants to either [[TakingYouWithMe kill the player who thwarted her]] or [[SuicideByCop die trying so she doesn't have to live with herself]].

* Halfway through the third season of ''Series/PersonOfInterest'', the head of DirtyCop cabal HR is arrested. However, his right-hand man remains on the run for a few days... and during that time he deals serious damage, [[spoiler:killing one of the main characters and seriously wounding another]].
** In the GrandFinale, [[Recap/PersonOfInterestS05E13 "return 0"]], after defeating Samaritan, Blackwell is the last surviving member of Decima, until he is finally tracked down and killed by Shaw as revenge for killing Root.

* ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfBayouBilly'' has you chasing and confronting a villain named Godfather Gordon. When you beat him, his bodyguards Rocky and Rocko appear: they serve as the game's final battle. Great work letting YOUR BOSS GET TRASHED, guys...
** This is, however, justified: [[DragonWithAnAgenda they were plotting to take over Godfather Gordon's crime syndicate,]] [[AllThereInTheManual and were using you to take him out.]]

Somehow along the way, though, they neglected to actually ''defeat'' TheDragon. Then the Dragon turns up again. They’re not TheManInFrontOfTheMan, they just weren’t around when the Big Bad went down. Sometimes there's a reason for it, but sometimes... they were just absent. They were [[{{Pun}} Dragon Their Feet]].

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'' has Massena, captain of Rudolf's guards. He is left behind to handle the cleanup in case Rudolf buys the farm, and never opposes Alm at any point. The remake, ''Echoes: Shadows of Valentia'', has Rudolf's nephew and heir presumptive Berkut outlive him in a similar manner. Unlike Massena, he ''does'' come back for one last piece of Alm.

** ''Film/AGoodDayToDieHard'', after Jack kills [[spoiler: Komarov]], his daughter Irina attempts a TakingYouWithMe by ramming her helicopter into the building, only for the [=McClanes=] to escape at the last second.

* In ''Film/TheManFromToronto'', after [[spoiler: [[BigBad Debora]] has been boiled]] and all the other assassins have been killed or knocked out, the Man from Tokyo still shows up to kill Teddy and Randy, but Randy promptly knocks him out.

** After Roy is finished with Pride, he exits his lair only to be shot in the eye by Frank Archer, who had been marching slowly into the area. Despite this Pride was not the actual Big Bad, Archer having been the Dragon to another Dragon.
** Thanks to surviving getting caught in Al's transmutation and crossing through The Gate, Envy has made it into the events of Conqueror of Shamballa, where he's able to encounter his younger half-brother and later his father.

* Zig-zagged during the GrandFinale of ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor''. About midway through the special, BigBad Father is trapped under his house, leaving the Delightful Children as the final challenge of the episode. However, it is revealed that [[spoiler:Father was the one to who the events of the story was being told to, but Sector V outsmarted him. So while he is the final villain, he is defeated first in a physical sense]].

** ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'' had Mr. Wynt and Mr. Kidd (Blofeld's assassins) try to kill Bond and Tiffany Case with a TimeBomb after Bond dealt with Blofeld.

** BigBad Carver from ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' is completely alone when Bond takes him out and then his Dragon Stamper emerges afterward to have the final battle with Bond.

* In ''Section 8'', after Jake Altherton (Creator/RyanKwanten) avenged the death of his family and killed Sam Ramsey (Creator/DermotMulroney), he returns home to his apartment only to find Leonard Locke (Creator/ScottAdkins) waiting for him. When Jake points out that his employer is dead, Locke responds he still has to complete the task given to him, leading to one final fight.

* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', Mike Ehrmantraut is a geriatric one man army and antagonist Gus Fring's button man. After Gus' successful plan to take down the cartel, Mike is wounded in a shootout and left behind at a makeshift hospital in Mexico. The last three episodes of season 4 play out with Mike out of commission, culminating in Gus' death. The season 5 opener answers the question of [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse what happened to Mike]], who immediately foregoes healing to avenge Gus.

* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', Mike Ehrmantraut is a geriatric one man army and antagonist Gus Fring's button man. After Gus' successful plan to take down the cartel, Mike is wounded in a shootout and left behind at a makeshift hospital in Mexico. The last three episodes of season 4 play out with Mike out of commission, culminating in Gus' death. The season 5 opener answers the question of ''WhatHappenedToTheMouse/what happened to Mike'', who immediately foregoes healing to avenge Gus.