History Main / TheSyndicate

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'': L. Thompson Lincoln's outfit is this (in fact, he was probably meant to be Kingpin, the example listed under Comics). He's the secret identity of The Big Man of Crime in New York, and bit players in the underworld think he's a myth -- meanwhile, Lincoln himself is publicly believed to be an odd-looking philanthropist. By season 3, there's a three-way struggle over his power base between him, the standard Mafia, and the growing supervillain community.

* ''Series/KidouKeijiJiban'' has Criminal Syndicate Bioron, an underground crime organization looking to foment terror throughout Japan with futuristic biotechnology, in the name of collapsing the Japanese government and [[TotalitarianGangsterism subjugating its population]].

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' has the Camonna Tong, the native Dunmer [[TheMafia Mafia]]. They're involved with nearly every seedy operation going on in Vvardenfell, particularly smuggling and drugs. They invert the RuthlessForeignGangsters trope, as they are much more ruthless than their Imperial import counterpart, the ThievesGuild, who avoids murder and generally practices HonorAmongThieves. The way they operate is very Mafia-esque, with Orvas Dren as the kingpin of the operation while they conduct business out of [[TotallyNotACriminalFront legitimate bars and taverns]]. More recently, they've even gotten involved with the [[ReligionOfEvil Sixth House cult]], whose promises of driving the Empire out of Morrowind meshes well with the Tong's utter hatred of outlanders. The Tong has two members of the [[ProudMerchantRace House Hlaalu]] council in their pocket, and also have control over the Fighters Guild [[spoiler:due to controlling the faction leader's gambling debts]]. As if that weren't all bad enough, they also take it upon themselves to [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil enforce Morrowind's pro-slavery laws]], which includes hiring bounty hunters to ruthlessly hunt down escaped slaves while they themselves are known to use slaves as drug mules. Finally, their leader, Orvas Dren, is planning to have his brother, [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Duke of Vvardenfell]] Vedam Dren, assassinated.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' has the Camonna Tong, the native Dunmer [[TheMafia Mafia]]. They're involved with nearly every seedy operation going on in Vvardenfell, particularly smuggling and drugs. They invert the RuthlessForeignGangsters trope, as they are much more ruthless than their Imperial import counterpart, the ThievesGuild, who avoids murder and generally practices HonorAmongThieves. The way they operate is very Mafia-esque, with Orvas Dren as the kingpin of the operation while they conduct business out of [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub legitimate bars and taverns]]. More recently, they've even gotten involved with the [[ReligionOfEvil Sixth House cult]], whose promises of driving the Empire out of Morrowind meshes well with the Tong's utter hatred of outlanders. The Tong has two members of the [[ProudMerchantRace House Hlaalu]] council in their pocket, and also have control over the Fighters Guild [[spoiler:due to controlling the faction leader's gambling debts]]. As if that weren't all bad enough, they also take it upon themselves to [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil enforce Morrowind's pro-slavery laws]], which includes hiring bounty hunters to ruthlessly hunt down escaped slaves while they themselves are known to use slaves as drug mules. Finally, their leader, Orvas Dren, is planning to have his brother, [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Duke of Vvardenfell]] Vedam Dren, assassinated.

** The New Day Co-op is [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub Co-operative that holds meetings at hotel conference rooms]], bringing together the high level dealers across the city to pool in their resources to get the best product for the best price. The meetings are even held using Robert's Rules of Order.

* The 100 (a.k.a. The 1000) is another example from Franchise/TheDCU.
* Vulture, in the 1950s ''ComicBook/MartianManhunter'' strips, was a shadowy criminal group led by the enigmatic [[DiabolicalMastermind Mr. V]]. They flummoxed both J'onn and the police with their zany schemes, and every time that J'onn thought he'd finally caught Mr. V, it would turn out to be just another one of his {{Body Double}}s.

* Intergang from the ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' comics falls into this, and is a credible threat even to powerful superheroes because they get their weapons and technology from Franchise/TheDCU's ultimate BigBad and EvilOverlord, {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}. (They also make a few appearances in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' cartoons.)
** More recently, reinvented as the [[ReligionOfEvil Church of Crime]]. Same deal, only with fewer Apokaliptan superweapons, and more [[MultipleReferencePun Apocalyptic revelations]].
* In ''ComicBook/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Mirage}}'', the Foot are supposed to be this, although they're not terribly effective at it. The Shredder and his men, it is eventually revealed, are pretty much a rogue faction of the main group (which mostly remains unseen outside the no-longer-canon Vol. 3), and the fact that Karai needs the turtles in order to stop the warring between factions does not bode well for the group as a whole. In the current story arc, it is revealed that most of the clan the world over had been killed by a group of mysterious warriors. So yeah...

** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Trevor Philips Enterprises/Incorporated/whatever Trevor feels like calling it is a criminal enterprise run by local lunatic Trevor Philips. While the "organization" itself consists solely of Trevor, his neighbors and anyone he forces to do his bidding, throughout the game he quickly takes over the criminal enterprises of the desert as well as having connections to Mexican cartels (though his plans to work with the Triads falls flat). He's also not above hiring others to do his dirty work such as the protagonists of the Online multiplayer mode.

** The New Day Co-op is a sort-of example of this, a loose alliance of Baltimore drug kingpins who share money and resources.

* [[VideoGame/DragaliaLost Dragalia Lost]] has an evil organization called The Syndicate who experiment on innocent people and forcefully fuse them with dragons and fiends. [[TheWoobie Aldred]] was one of their victims, and he has since developed some serious PTSD from their procedures.

** ''Series/Daredevil2015'': Wilson Fisk's cartel in season 1 qualifies. It takes control of the New York City underworld after muscling out the last remnants of TheMafia. The cartel brings together [[TheMafiya Russian human traffickers]], [[MorallyBankruptBanker white-collar criminals]], and what appear to be the local branches of TheYakuza and [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs The Triads]] but turn out to be part of a much older and more nefarious death cult. The cartel has been mostly burned down by the end of the first season, which doesn't slow Fisk down one bit: when he's released in season 3, he simply sets up a new syndicate by extorting the city's crime bosses into working for him in exchange for not being sold out to the FBI agents he's managed to subvert during his time in prison.

* ''Series/YourHonor'': Desire, an African-American gang, and the Baxter family (with white members) control New Orleans' organized crime, vying for dominance.

* ''Manga/{{Gungrave}}'' is a series 100% based off of a syndicate and with its fair share of conspiracies. And zombies.

* [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Syndicate]] in ''[[VideoGame/JakAndDaxter Jak X]]'' that is run by [[VillainousGlutton Krew's]] rival gang leader and practically ''runs'' [[ViceCity Kras City]]. Fixes all the [[BloodSport Combat Races]], [[SeriousBusiness hires mercenary drivers]], [[spoiler: sabotages Jak's vehicle, and kills Blitz's father, though that happened before the game's events.]]