History Main / StarterVillain

* ''Fanfic/{{Shadowchasers}}'': The first Shadowkind seen in the original story is the [[SnakePeople ophidian]] Hebi-Na, and while her role in that fic isn't all ''too'' big, she plays a much bigger role in ''Fanfic/ShadowchasersPowerPrimordial'', where Ember starts to regard her as an ArchEnemy. [[spoiler:(However, she makes a HeelFaceTurn in a later work.)]]

* Lord Crump in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' takes on Mario almost as soon as the game begins. He tries to defeat Mario a few times later on, but he becomes increasingly outmatched even as Lord Crump himself continues to improve.
** Hooktail from the same game could also count, being the ArcVillain of the first Chapter and the first serious threat, who is actually quite a challenge unless you have [[WeaksauceWeakness a specific badge.]]
** Bowser has a tendency to be the starter villain in ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' {{R|olePlayingGame}}PGs.

** Donkey Kong could be considered one for the ''Mario'' series as a whole, being the antagonist of the very first game.

** ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'': The terrorists who 'stole' (though they'd actually made a clandestine deal) Lex Luthor's battlesuit.

* Both ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009'' start with the team infiltrating a Mutant Response Division base, as a prelude to taking on The Sentinels. ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' starts with Toad infiltrating the Xavier Academy.

* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'': The first threat Superman takes on is a group of terrorists hired by Lex Luthor to stage the theft of his latest invention, a robotic battle suit. What's especially noteworthy is that one of the terrorists, James Corben, would go on to become the supervillain Metallo.

* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'': not only was Hotstreak was the first Bang Baby Static had to face in the series, but was also Static's bully prior to the Big Bang. The main issue Static had when fighting in the first episode wasn't dealing with Hotstreak's PlayingWithFire powers, but struggling to get over fealing powerless against his bully. Hotstreak does become a reoccuring villain, but is never as much of an overarcing threat compared to future villains, such as Ebon.

If the series is not based on a pre-existing work, [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants and the writers are making it up as they go along,]] a Starter Villain can end up turning into a BreakoutVillain if the fans and[=/=]or the writers end up liking them enough.

** Speaking of Mario, Bowser has a tendency to be the starter villain in {{R|olePlayingGame}}PGs.

** In the series proper, Laura Limpin (and her alter-ego The Big Badolescent) is the first villain the Kids Next Door face. She's a little girl who is capable of HulkingOut- and she's right under the thumb of the Delightful Children from Down the Lane, the show's major recurring antagonists.

-->'''Tali:''' Fist and his men seemed so dangerous. We've come a long way. Don't know if that's a ''good'' thing, but... it's definitely more interesting.

** ''Anime/YuGiOh5ds'': The aforementioned Ushio grew up to be a police officer in New Domino City who Yusei has to turbo duel as a diversion so his friends can escape arrest, though he is decidedly less malicious than his manga counterpart. In a city where corruption in law enforcement is the norm, Ushio keeps his word when Yusei defeats him.

*** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' has the CreepyGymCoach, Suguru Kamoshida, take on this role. He's the lowest of the low when it comes to someone considering themselves above the law and has a personal connection to the first two friends the protagonist makes, fueling the desire to knock him down a peg. It later turns out that he's the only Palace boss completely unconnected to the overarching plot.

* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': Call-Me-Kenneth, a construction robot who led a robotic revolt against humankind. Dredd short-circuited and destroyed him at the end of the arc. He managed to returns a couple times until he was KilledOffForReal after his attempt to hijack an oil tanker ended with him blown to pieces along with the ship.

* In ''VideoGame/FromTheDepths'', the Deepwater Guard pirates serve as the first enemy faction as you seek vengeance for their betrayal. The DWG are the game's weakest faction, using ships made largely of wood with [[PointDefenseless a designed weakness to missiles]], and have few top-tier units. Taking on the other factions results in a DifficultySpike, such as the Onyx Watch's all-metal hulls.

* The first real villain in ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' is O'Malley the CardCarryingVillain AI. He's LaughablyEvil to a greater extent than most other villains, and his lack of resources mean that the Blood Gulch Crew can defeat him even before their collective [[TookALevelInBadass level-ups in badass]]. Later seasons paint him as capable of posing a far greater threat than he did in Blood Gulch (possessing [[CloudCuckooLander Caboose]] and [[GranolaGuy Doc]] must have done a number on his mental faculties), but he never gets to show it outside of flashbacks as he's quickly collected by the Meta and subsequently killed off.

* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': Call-Me-Kenneth, a construction robot who led a robotic revolt against humankind. Dredd short-circuited and destroyed him at the end of the arc. He managed to returns a couple times until he was KilledForReal after his attempt to hijack an oil tanker ended with him blown to pieces along with the ship.

* ''ComicBook/{{Typhon}}'': The first foe we see is an unnamed ruler of an undersea kingdom who's fond of doing a BalefulPolymorph to anybody who opposes him. He's rendered into a LivingStatue by the end of the issue.

* Both ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' and ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009'' start with the team infiltrating a Mutant Response Division base, as a prelude to taking on The Sentinels. ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' starts with Toad infiltrating the Xavier Academy.

** Emperor Pilaf was the first real villain that Goku and gang faced (after pterodactyls, bear thieves, bandits, boss rabbits and cowardly shape-shifting pigs). In the manga he isn't even an ArcVillain as he shows up at the very end as the final obstacle, while in the anime he and his lackies makes various off-screen attempts to steal the Dragon Balls over the course of the arc. What makes him this trope over the others is that he sought after the Dragon Balls to take over the world, making him a legit threat despite being the TeamRocket.

** Season 1 of the spinoff ''Series/BetterCaulSaul'' has Craig and Betsy Kettleman, [[WhiteCollarCrime white-collar criminals]] who embezzled money from the county treasury.

** For Season 1 as a whole, Gideon Gleeful. He's [[spoiler:PutOnABusToPrison]] in the Season 1 finale after summoning actual BigBad Bill Cipher, [[StarterVillainStays though he plays an important role]] in the first episode of the three-part GrandFinale.

* Similarly, The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk's starter villain was The Gargoyle, the spy who arranged the sabotage of the gamma bomb test that turned Bruce Banner into the Hulk.

** Iron Monger from ''Film/IronMan'' is the very first BigBad the series ever had.

* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' series has [[SmugSnake Johnny Tran]], a gang leader and Dom's [[TheRival rival]] in the [[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious2001 first film]].

* The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse has a knack for these:

* ''LightNovel/ReignOfTheSevenSpellblades'': Vera Miligan, a fourth-year student interested in the [[InhumanableAlienRights pro-demihuman rights movement]], turns out to be the primary antagonist of the first volume, having created the errant troll that attacked Katie at the school entrance ceremony in the process of PlayingWithSyringes to make demis more intelligent so human mages would respect them more. After Katie succeeds in teaching the troll to talk while trying to retrain it so it won't be euthanized, Vera kidnaps her to analyze her brain and figure out how she was able to do it, forcing Oliver and Nanao to battle Miligan. More than anything else, Miligan serves to establish the BlueAndOrangeMorality of the mage world writ large, and after surviving her defeat, she becomes a sort of EvilMentor to Katie: [[DefeatMeansFriendship appreciated for her assistance with various problems the protagonists face]], but not trusted and not liked.

* ''Film/KungFuPanda'' has an [[ZigZaggedTrope interesting variation]] with Tai Lung, the first proper villain that Po faces in the entire franchise. He's already reached a high level of mastery by the time he's faced Po and the Furious Five and is more powerful and skilled than Shen, the sequel villain. However, threat level-wise, Shen is still greater than Tai Lung because he has an entire army, advanced weaponry, and more grand country-wide ambitions and Tai Lung is completely eclipsed by Kai from the third movie in both threat level and power. On the other hand, taking into consideration the different animated shows, Tai Lung may be far below major villains like Ke-Pa, Jindiao, and the White Bone Demon but is likely still far more dangerous and powerful compared to some of Po's regular RoguesGallery like Fung, Hundun, Tong Fo, Temutai, and Taotie, placing Tai Lung in that unique niche of being a StarterVillain who stays strong relative to the entire franchise since there are later villains who surpass him in power and threat level, but not every single later villain Po faces necessarily reaches his level either.