History Main / TheManBehindTheMan

** Dr. Schlock has usurped Prometheus as the Man behind Hereti Corp. Since it's a corporation full of evil characters, there's quite a few figures he can get behind.

A SubTrope of ObviousVillainSecretVillain. Compare and contrast GreaterScopeVillain, where a villain more powerful than the BigBad exists, but is either not personally involved in the plot or is not a "person" to begin with. Not to do with a GambitPileup, though you might get one if everyone is trying to manipulate each other. This trope and/or GreaterScopeVillain may also come into play if the villains are terrorists backed by larger powers like DirtyCommunists or {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s.

* The Biggest Bad is this to General Hand in [[http://fav.me/d4lv1qv Super Milestone Wars 2]].

* ''Fanfic/TheChildOfLove'': SEELE were the group was behind Gendo the whole time. [[spoiler:Kaji tried to wipe them out, but they returned in the sequel.]]
* ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'': The main characters spend a long time fighting [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos the Great Old Ones]] only to find they are acting at the behest of the [[EldritchAbomination Outer Gods]], their true enemies.

* ''Fanfic/{{Downfall|Bleach}}'' has an interesting one -- although it appears at first glance that Unohana and her faction are the villains, subsequent perspectives given the readers have rendered that perspective uncertain. At best, that is only half the answer, and it is implied that some other force may be manipulating events.

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': The BigBad of the "New and Old Flames" arc turned out to be the short, hairy, quiet comic book geek, Dex. But it turns out he was under some kind of MindControl. The main cast know it must have been an immortal due to the circumstances, but only the reader and maybe a couple of other characters know it was Pandora.
** [[SubvertedTrope Except that it was actually]] a different Immortal [[Main/FrameUp pretending to be her]] because she was responsible for [[Main/FramingTheGuiltyParty other, similar cases]], [[Main/JackTheRipoff thus allowing them deflect attention away from himself.]]

** Played with in ''ComicBook/TheNail''. It's implied that ComicBook/LexLuthor (believed by the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica to be the BigBad) is being manipulated by Starro until it's revealed that [[spoiler:[[RedHerring "Starro" is actually]] a [[TheGrotesque mutated]] version of [[Comicbook/KryptoTheSuperdog Krypto]]]]. The ''real'' BigBad is none other than... [[spoiler:ComicBook/JimmyOlsen]].
** ComicBook/LexLuthor is initially positioned as the BigBad of ''Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis'', but it turns out that the true culprit is Alexander Luthor, Lex's MirrorUniverse counterpart. Note that this also included everything ''leading up'' to the Crisis, such as [[AIIsACrapshoot granting sentience to Batman's Brother Eye satellite]] and instigating the war between Raan and Thanagar.

** ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'': It's revealed in TheStinger that the being Loki made a deal with is ComicBook/{{Thanos}}. It's subverted in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''. Thanos is originally this for Ronan the Accuser, but Ronan defies him and embarks on his own personal plots.

* ''Webcomic/EurekaSevenParadoxMakers'' has Mekala, who is the harbinger of the Secrets and the enemy of Scubs. She frequently engages in spacio-temporal warfare to tinker with reality, resulting in divergent timelines that often lead to bad futures or total ruin, and she manipulates people through the gift of supernatural powers to achieve her ultimate plans. Many a poor soul have unknowingly furthered Mekala's wicked schemes, thinking they were the ones in control.

* ''Webcomic/EurekaSevenParadoxMakers has Mekala, who is the harbinger of the Secrets and the enemy of Scubs. She frequently engages in spacio-temporal warfare to tinker with reality, resulting in divergent timelines that often lead to bad futures or total ruin, and she manipulates people through the gift of supernatural powers to achieve her ultimate plans. Many a poor soul have unknowingly furthered Mekala's wicked schemes, thinking they were the ones in control,

* Some [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] students believe that Isaiah 14:12 (particularly in the King James Version) and Ezekiel 28:12-19 is God talking to [[TheDevil The Man Behind The Kings]].

* ''Fanfic/ADifferentMiraculousSetOfCircumstances'' (''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug''): No one even knows that Hawkmoth ''exists'' in this universe, much less that he's the one commanding Chat Blac to cause mayhem and demand the Ladybug Miraculous. Master Fu is aware that both the Butterfly and Black Cat Miraculi have been activated to do evil, but it's dubious whether he is privy to the Cat's brainwashing.

Rarely involves [["BlamingTheMan The Man",]] unless he was the one who created the personified conceptual authority on the first place.

Rarely involves ["BlamingTheMan The Man",] unless he was the one who created the personified conceptual authority on the first place.

Rarely involves "The Man", unless he was the one who created the personified conceptual authority on the first place.

* ''ComicBook/Amulet'': The Elf King is set up as the BigBad for the majority of the comic, until it is eventually revealed that he was being controlled by the Voice within Emily's Amulet, whose real name was Ikor, who himself was taking on a more villainous role starting in the latter half of the series, and is also the real BigBad.

* ''Fanfic/FriendshipIsAura'': [[UltimateEvil Lord Tartarus]] was the one who sent Chrysalis into Equestria in the first place, making him responsible for the incident at the wedding and her actions in-story.

* In ''Machinima/CultOfPersonality'', [[WordOfGod which takes place before Mann Vs. Machine]], the then unknown Gray Mann is supporting oWn with funding, weapons, and prototypes of his robots in exchange for combat footage. Said combat footage would then be used to improve the AI of the robots and make them more closer to the mercenaries in terms of combat expertise and personality.
* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' uses this trope a few times.

Contrast ChessmasterSidekick and DecoyLeader. In some ([[AntiClimax unsatisfying]]) occasions, The Man Behind The Man may be TheManBehindTheCurtain. If there is no first man to begin with, or the first man is very obviously ''not'' the BigBad, it's a HiddenVillain. If the mastermind turns out to be an innocuous character who was quickly overlooked, then it's a case of TheDogWasTheMastermind. If the Man Behind the Man is a previously-fought villain, then the plot has been HijackedByGanon. Sufficiently complex plots may involve [[UpToEleven The Man]] ''[[UpToEleven Behind]]'' The Man Behind The Man and so forth; the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil usually, but not always, applies in these cases. Do this many times within a story (optionally mixed with the aforementioned tropes) and you have TheBigBadShuffle.

* Mr White, from ''Film/JamesBond''. He first appears as the intermediary between Le Chiffre and the African warlords in ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', working on behalf of the shadowy terrorist organization Quantum. He only meets Bond once the film, when he kills Le Chiffre as punishment for his failures. Even after Bond captures him in ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'', White escapes before he can give information, and also eludes Bond at a later point. It is suggested that White is one of the more mysterious leaders of Quantum, as he manipulates both the heroes and villains to his gain, repeatedly. ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' later takes this UpToEleven by revealing that [[spoiler:Franz Oberhauser (also known as [[HijackedByGanon Ernst Stavro Blofeld]]) and his organization SPECTRE]] were behind Mr. White, Le Chiffre and Dominic Greene all along. The film also reveals that [[spoiler:Oberhauser]] was also behind Raoul Silva's schemes in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}''.

** ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'' has a large scale international smuggling ring, and throughout a large portion of the game, you see small areas of it, and solve crimes related to it. Eventually, you find out that Calisto Yew not only ordered a hit job, murdered two men in cold blood, tried shooting the main protagonist dead, betrayed and back-stabbed her friends, but is also part of the smuggling ring [[UpToEleven AND ON TOP OF THAT]] also claims to be the Yatagarasu. Throughout a large portion of the game, you're lead to believe she's the big bad, and the person behind everything. Until it's eventually revealed that she's just a puppet who was being ordered around by the REAL big bad, the ringleader of the entire smuggling operation.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':

Rarely involves TheMan, unless he was the one who created the personified conceptual authority on the first place.

** In ''ComicBook/NickSpencersSpiderMan'', the Kingpin's idea to get to Boomerang by going after his roommate Peter Parker is nixed by an unknown, giant-centipede-carrying third party, who forces Fisk to kneel and remember "who really runs things around here". A second attempt to get Boomerang has his forces back off at the sight of "The Roomate". This mysterious third party, Kindred, is revealed to be [[spoiler: Harry Osborn, the ''other'' Green Goblin.]]

* When former BigBad Slade comes BackFromTheDead on ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', 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". It turns out to be [[DarkMagicalGirl Raven's demonic father]], [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Trigon the Terrible]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', much of the villains' activity (including Cadmus, the Kobra venom, and the mole within the heroes) can be traced to the Light, working towards their goal of jumpstarting human evolution through conflict. The end of Season 2 reveals that the Light has an alliance with Apokalips, which is clarified in Season 3 to be a temporary alliance to conquer the universe before a final battle for domination.

* When [[DangerousDeserter Talzo]] returns in ''Webcomic/KirbyAdventure'', he brings along several other baddies to back him up in his fight against the Kirby Adventure Squad. While at first appearing to be the leader of the group, he is soon revealed to be the TheDragon to an as of yet [[HiddenVillain unseen entity]] who also seems determined to take down the squad.

A subtrope of ObviousVillainSecretVillain. Compare and contrast GreaterScopeVillain, where a villain more powerful than the BigBad exists, but is either not personally involved in the plot or is not a "person" to begin with. Not to do with a GambitPileup, though you might get one if everyone is trying to manipulate each other. This trope and/or GreaterScopeVillain may also come into play if the villains are terrorists backed by larger powers like DirtyCommunists or {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s.