History Main / TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness

* ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'': Spoony dubs them (specifically, the group from ''The Avengers'') "The Shadowy Council of People Who Sit in Poorly-Lit Rooms and Rule the World".

* In the Japanese education system, the ''PTA'' fills this role, being made up of mainly highly respected members of the local community (school principals, chief of police, etc) and having enormous sway with the Board of Education and individual schools. They can easily get a teacher they don't approve of fired or transferred, and their complaint about the ''BoboboboBobobo'' anime being "too violent" supposedly was one of the factors that caused its cancellation.

* If ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' {{Fanon}} has to be believed, there are three kinds of Omniscient Council in the FicDom. One is ROOT ([[WildMassGuessing with some basis of canon theory]]), each time [[RightWingPoliticalMilitant Danzo]] portrayed as some sort of BigBad. Second is ''Konoha Council'', while often realistically portrayed as WellIntentionedExtremist, treatment put on titular protagonist [[TheMessiah Naruto]] making them a bunch of LawfulStupid instead, gaining the FanNickname of "[[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries Council of Doom]]". The Third one is Council of Hyuuga Clan, whenever [[TheUnfavorite Hinata or Neji]] had to face [[{{Wangst}} internal conflict]], [[KickTheDog its because of them]].[[note]]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 HeroicSacrifice), 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.[[/note]]

* {{MAG ISA}} -- [[http://mag-isa.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/119800 They appear in almost every intro chapter of MAG-ISA]]. Their faces aren't seen. But they're the one pulling the strings. BigBad is probably among them lurking in the shadows. They cannot be seen but they see all that is happening.

* [[ShapedLikeItself The Eight or Nine Guys Who Secretly Run Everything]] in ArgonZark. Guess what they do?

* [[http://xkcd.com/1224/ This]] {{XKCD}} strips parodies this trope with the Council of 300[[spoiler:...um...299]]. They...decide which videos go viral.

* The ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series has both the Shadow Broker and Cerberus/Illusive Man. Helping or following direct orders/requests from either group generally rewards [[KarmaMeter renegade points]].

* Its creative descendant (not quite a sequel), the [=PS2=] game trilogy ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'', kicked it up a notch — literal hours of dialogue were dedicated to this.

* The conversations between Mashiro, Fumi and Nagi throughout ''{{Mai-HiME}}'' ''even after the GrandFinale''.
* 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.

* ''TheCompany'' in ''Series/{{Heroes}}''. We know it was founded to protect "specials" and ended up betraying that agenda, but it still fits. It approached omniscience (and omnipotence) in its reach, which extended to politicians and gangsters, and was certainly vague, jumping from scheme to scheme with no apparent long term agenda besides capturing specials. Even then, it's unclear if they ever intended to rehabilitate them or just keep building secret prisons all over the country.

* MarvelComics had ComicBook/TheIlluminati, and Osborn's Cabal.

* ''The Second Literature/{{Foundation}}'' (Asimov's {{Chessmaster}} extraordinares) [[ExaggeratedTrope 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.

->'''Mulder:''' ''[in AgentMulder mode]'' These [[SubliminalSeduction messages]] were relayed purposely.
->'''Scully:''' ''[in AgentScully mode]'' By whom?
->'''SF Debris:''' Evil people, duh! Who else? You know, men who sit at long tables in poorly lit rooms full of cigar smoke, who talk about how they're going to controool the wooorld!"

* In ''HalfLife'' 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.

* ''The Second Literature/{{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!"

* DC comics had The Quintessence, and the most recent Franchise/{{Batman}} relaunch brings the Council of Owls into the verse, which is also an AncientConspiracy.
* MarvelComics had the Illuminati, and Osborn's Cabal.

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

* [[SecretOrganizationCravingIntelligentEnigmaticTropersYonder S]]ome pe[[SecretOrganizationCravingIntelligentEnigmaticTropersYonder o]]ple have theorized that such an Omnipotent [[SecretOrganizationCravingIntelligentEnigmaticTropersYonder C]]ouncil ex[[SecretOrganizationCravingIntelligentEnigmaticTropersYonder i]]sts on ThisVeryWiki. Wh[[SecretOrganizationCravingIntelligentEnigmaticTropersYonder e]]re [[SecretOrganizationCravingIntelligentEnigmaticTropersYonder t]]he[[SecretOrganizationCravingIntelligentEnigmaticTropersYonder y]] got this idea? Everyone knows that's a lie. {{Troper}}s are much too busy editing pages to form a [[SecretOrganizationCravingIntelligentEnigmaticTropersYonder cabal]]. Yes, the idea is appealing, but it's just not true.

If they're pretending to be good, or only the head(s) of the organization are evil, then the organization may undergo a ConspiracyRedemption.

* The "Book Men" of ''PrincessTutu'' 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 RealityWarper 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.]]

* The Powers That Be in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}''.

* DC comics had The Quintessence, and the most recent {{Batman}} relaunch brings the Council of Owls into the verse, which is also an AncientConspiracy.

* ''Film/TheAvengers'' has the 'World Security Council' of American, British, Chinese and Russian members, who are running SHIELD. They seem to know a lot about alien technology, advance weaponry and can order [[spoiler: a nuclear strike on New York]] at will. NickFury seems to know how to handle them when they make the wrong decisions.

[[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]] dubs them "The Shadowy Council of People Who Sit in Poorly-Lit Rooms and Rule the World".
** The World Security Council could be a FictionalCounterpart of the United Nations Security Council, an international group capable of making binding executive agreements (UNSC Resolutions) enforceable by volunteered military personnel. Permanent members of the UNSC include the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Russia, ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg as well as France]]), much like the "World Security Council".

** The American PTA can fill either example, [[DependingOnTheWriter depending on the school]].

* The future Japan of ''GhostInTheShell'' is ruled by one that is so vague, that it never makes any appearance at all, or gets defined in even the most basic way. The entire government and administration is full of their pawns, both knowing and unknowing, up to and including the ''prime minister''. The PowersThatBe put her into that position mostly because she looks good in public and [[TemptingFate lacks the ambition to interfere with their plans]]. Sometimes Section 9 gets ordered to capture certain people without asking for the reasons, or someone decides to send a hit squad from another agency to stop them from putting their noses into places they are not supposed to. Nobody knows what the people in charge actually want, and few people even seem to care. They just try to protect the people of Japan from harm as well as they can.
** 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 TruthInTelevision.

* The conversations between Mashiro, Fumi and Nagi throughout ''{{Mai-HiME}}'' — ''even after the GrandFinale''.
* 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.
* Pretty much everybody in ''RahXephon'' other than the main character gets a shot at this, but Bähbem and anybody he's talking to at any given moment are the champs.

* ''MacrossFrontier'' has it in form of a bodyless voices engaging in a vague, but ominously sounding dialogues [[spoiler: inside Grace's head]]. [[MindScrew Or not]].
** [[spoiler: It's just an HiveMind actually, the council linked themselves with each other]]
* The nameless Time-Space Administration High Council of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', [[spoiler: who are revealed to be the very founders of the Bureau themselves]], complete with audio-only monoliths they're hidden behind whenever they converse with Regius and [[spoiler: Jail]].
** This is subverted a little later on in the series when it is revealed that they don't know nearly as much as they think they do, including [[spoiler: that Jail had snuck a cyborg in disguised as the one who took care of them so that she could kill them at the drop of a hat]].
** For once, it's perfectly reasonable that they're shown as monoliths only - [[spoiler:seeing as they're brains in jars]]
** Also, because it's a ShoutOut to Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion.

* The closest thing ''OnePiece'' has is the Five Elder Stars. 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.
** The Five Elder Stars really are the heads of government, with authority over everything and everyone under them, including the Kings and Sengoku. They have the larger goals which include ensuring that the government remains in control and continues to grow, dealing with those that seek to topple the government, and covering up their own history.
* In the third round and second Revival Round of ''LiarGame'', the masked LGT officials (I forget their names) are watching the game via videoscreens while making incredibly vague comments about the players' schemes and aptitudes.
** In the third round, it's Leroniro and Nearco, but Solario inexplicably takes their place in the second Revival Round.

* The Homunculi in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' initially appear this way, but are fleshed out more as the series progresses. Their leader [[spoiler:Father]] doesn't even ''appear'' until around a third of the way through, though he is first namedropped in the first volume.
** Another example are the Generals of the Army. Brigadier Generals, Major Generals, Lieutenant Generals, all working under the the Fuhrer towards a [[AGodAmI mysterious goal]] by [[SocialDarwinist sacrificing their own people]].

* ''{{Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo}}'' has the block leaders from the third era of the Maruhage Empire
** As well as the First Hair Lion's Resolve 16
** There is also IXEX in Shinsetsu Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo.

* If '''''Manga/{{Naruto}}''''' {{Fanon}} has to be believed, there are three kinds of Omniscient Council in the FicDom. One is ROOT ([[WildMassGuessing with some basis of canon theory]]), each time [[RightWingPoliticalMilitant Danzo]] portrayed as some sort of BigBad. Second is ''Konoha Council'', while often realistically portrayed as WellIntentionedExtremist, treatment put on titular protagonist [[TheMessiah Naruto]] making them a bunch of LawfulStupid instead, gaining the FanNickname of "[[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries Council of Doom]]". The Third one is Council of Hyuuga Clan, whenever [[TheUnfavorite Hinata or Neji]] had to face [[{{Wangst}} internal conflict]], [[KickTheDog its because of them]].
** 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 HeroicSacrifice), 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.

* ''{{Eraserhead}}'''s Man In The Planet manages to be a one-man council of vagueness. Theories on just what he is range from {{Satan}} to {{God}}.
** Do keep in mind that it is a DavidLynch film.
** Mr. Roque in MulhollandDrive fulfills a similar role.
** As does the Black Lodge in TwinPeaks

** [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]] dubs them "The Shadowy Council of People Who Sit in Poorly-Lit Rooms and Rule the World".

* ''{{The X-Files}}'' had about six of these over the course of the show.

** 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 [[Series/BattlestarGalacticaReimagined Cylons]]. "They have a plan..." But the writers won't tell us ''what''.
** WordofGod finally admitted that there was never a plan, but "they have a general set of goals, an agenda, if you will," didn't make for a very good tag line.
** 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 ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Classic}}'', Baltar was always reporting to an unknown 'Imperious Leader' though.
* ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]] loves'' this one: sometimes there will be multiple Omniscient Councils of Vagueness in the same season.
** "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 KilledOffForReal. 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 OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness]], because they were sick of this trope being used all the time, among various other things.
* The Kougami Foundation in KamenRiderOOO plays this straight. It isn't spelled out until the very end what their chairman wanted.
* Also, KamenRiderDouble, who have Foundation X, who plays this straighter, right down to the lack of any clear motive.
** In one of the ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' movies, we have Foundation X take center stage as the bad guys...only for the guy running the operation to prove to be a rogue agent acting on his own. His goals weren't the Foundation's goals, so we ''still'' have no idea what the Foundation's goals are.

* ''ThePretender''...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.
* ''Series/{{Nikita}}'': [[GovernmentConspiracy Oversight]], the group of high-ranking politicians and military officials that Division nominally [[BiggerBad reports to]]. They're mentioned several times throughout the first season, and in one of the last scenes of the finale, we finally see them (or at least, a group of them) in a meeting; naturally, they're all sitting at a table in a half-lit room, with only the members we'd seen previously being in the light.
** Then halfway through season two, [[spoiler:all of them except Senator Pearce are revealed, then assassinated a couple of episodes later.]]

* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness in ''PrisonBreak'' was also named The Company. Besides being the President's puppet master, its interests seemed to be whatever was appealing at the time. Its resources were [[InformedAttribute supposed to be]] vast, yet even it and the FBI's combined reach wasn't enough to stop two men from tearing it down. True to the trope, The General never monologued and initially communicated in handwritten notes for fear of having his voice secretly recorded, but dropped that habit once the audience knew more about The Company.

* TheIlluminati in ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'', who end up giving their blackmailed minions tasks ranging from "kill this man" to "place a bucket full of paint in a dustbin in HPL Sector.
** [[spoiler:It's little more than a front for High Programmer activities in secret societies that need a lot of discretion. It's not an actual secret society and more of a joke between [=ULTRAVIOLETs=]...probably.]]

** There is also the more traditional Aurum, an organization of wealthy families dedicated to increasing their own wealth.[[/folder]]

->'''Mulder''': ''[in AgentMulder mode]'' These [[SubliminalSeduction messages]] were relayed purposely.
->'''Scully''': ''[in AgentScully mode]'' By whom?
->'''SF Debris''' Evil people, duh! Who else? You know, men who sit at long tables in poorly lit rooms full of cigar smoke, who talk about how they're going to controool the wooorld!"

* 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]].

* On ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', we have [[LightIsNotGood the Light]], a shadowy group of high-profile villains who are responsible for most of what the team has gone through. Recent events have confirmed [[spoiler:LexLuthor and Ra's al Ghul]] are members.
** Episode 14 confirms the rest of the council as [[spoiler:Vandal Savage, Ocean Master, Queen Bee, The Brain, and Klarion the Witch Boy]].