History Main / UltimateEvil

* Pictured above is "Cjopaze" from ''Roleplay/RubyQuest''. Or at least part of Cjopaze, stitched together from multiple images. Weaver was very, very careful to not reveal too much about the horror at once.

* [[BigBad The Beast]] from ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall'' is ordinarily completely silhouetted. The one time we see him in full is briefly when the Woodsman shines his lantern on him, where [[spoiler:his skin appears to be covered in screaming faces.]]

** The title character of ''Literature/{{It}}''. The forms that ARE seen, such as the infamous MonsterClown Pennywise, are based on childhood fears. [[spoiler: The giant spider form]] at the end was meant to be the most terrifying of the forms that humanity can "safely" comprehend. Beyond that, madness ensues.

** The title character of ''Literature/{{It}}''. The forms that ARE seen, such as the infamous MonsterClown Pennywise, are based on childhood fears. [[spoiler: The giant spider form]] at the end, although weak-sauce to the extreme, was meant to be the most terrifying of the forms that humanity can "safely" comprehend. Beyond that, madness ensues.

** Lovecraft himself is speculated to have been parodying overuse of the concept in the story [[http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/theunnamable.htm "The Unnamable"]], although it's hard to tell since he always wrote like that. It's definitely parodied [[http://www.gamejag.net/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=79459&sid=4a7d1dfab144103575e2a4e6a41f9f4e here]].

* Reavers in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' are never seen on-screen; only their ships and the after-effects of an attack are. This got turned on its head when they got revealed in ''[[TheMovie Serenity]]'' and [[VillainDecay proved, once again, why]] TropesAreNotBad.

* Yawgmoth, BigBad of ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'''s Weatherlight saga and the biggest villain the game has ever had, has never been depicted on any card. Even the tie-in novels are vague about his actual appareance.

* The Celestials in Marvel Comics are a group of SufficientlyAdvancedAliens that, for unknown reasons, judge whether worlds and their inhabitants are fit to continue living. Their motivations and origins are unknown, they never speak, and nobody even knows what they look like beneath their armor. The most recent time they visited Earth, they may have ''listened'' to the New Gods' arguments (as they judged in favor of Earth) but it's impossible to tell if this was truly their reason for doing so.

* King Stan in ''VideoGame/{{Okage}}: Shadow King'' is trapped in the form of a shadow for 95% of the game, citing that the entire world will shake in terror once he regains his True Form. It turns out to be less than impressive (although that chin ''is'' pretty scary).

* Diavolo, [[TheDon leader of Passione]] in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'', tries to invoke this on himself by erasing all traces of his existence, including killing anyone and everyone who's so much as even seen his face [[spoiler: including trying to kill his own daughter.]] His own Stand makes a full on-screen appearance long before he does, and anyone who even sees ''that'' is targeted for death. Ultimately this comes back to bite him in the ass, as [[spoiler: not only does this obsession with not revealing his identity prove to be a FatalFlaw that makes it much harder for him to defeat the heroes, not only is he forced to reveal his face to the heroes anyway in time for the final battle, but after Giorno subjected him to an [[FateWorseThanDeath infinite death loop with Gold Experience Requiem]], [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary materials]] reveal that he then stepped up and proclaimed that ''he'' was the leader of Passione all along, and nobody can say anything to the contrary because nobody alive outside of Giorno and his allies knew the boss' true identity anyway.]]

* Diavolo in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' tries to invoke this on himself by erasing all traces of his existence, including killing anyone and everyone who's so much as even seen his face [[spoiler: including trying to kill his own daughter.]] Ultimately this comes back to bite him in the ass, as [[spoiler: not only is he forced to reveal his face to the heroes in time for the final battle, but after Giorno subjected him to an [[FateWorseThanDeath infinite death loop with Gold Experience Requiem]], [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary materials]] reveal that he then stepped up and proclaimed that ''he'' was the leader of Passione all along, and nobody can say anything to the contrary because nobody alive outside of Giorno and his allies knew the boss' true identity anyway.]]

* Diavolo in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' tries to invoke this on himself by erasing all traces of his existence, including killing anyone and everyone who's so much as even seen his face [[spoiler: including trying to kill his own daughter.]]

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' has [[FinalBoss the First Evil]], a primordial being which claims to be the will of evil itself. An incorporeal being, it can take the form of anyone who has died (even if they're TheUndead or [[DeathIsCheap currently alive again]]), which it uses to very creepy effect. Then, about three times in the whole series, we get a brief glimpse of its apparent "true" form...which demonstrates the reason for this trope. [[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/buffy/images/a/ad/First_Evil.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20070329210756 Random demony face]] just isn't a match for one of our beloved main characters acting like a twistedly cruel version of themselves.

* Similarly, the aliens in ''Series/TheXFiles'' were, for the entirety of the first season, represented by slo-mo and flashlights.

* The new series of ''Series/DoctorWho'' season 4 episode "Midnight" has a chillingly effective Ultimate Evil. Unlike all of the Doctor's other adversaries, it has no shape or form and is only known by its influence on others. The Doctor proves to be utterly mystified and helpless against it, and [[spoiler: were it not for a HeroicSacrifice by the tour guide]], it would have succeeded in killing the Doctor. In its one appearance, it evokes the same fear from the Doctor that the Doctor usually inspires in other alien menaces, such as the Daleks.
* Reavers in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' are never seen on-screen; only their ships and the after-effects of an attack are. This got turned on its head when they got revealed in ''[[TheMovie Serenity]]'' and [[VillainDecay proved, once again, why]] TropesAreNotBad.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' has two: the Darkness, an EldritchAbomination made from the darkness of all souls it ever bonds itself too all the way to its latest carrier (Rumpelstiltskin), and the Black Fairy, one of the most powerful practitioners of dark magic and the one who created the Dark Curse that the whole series was built around.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'' gives us the Shadows, who are seen, but relatively rarely. They look like giant, really nasty spider/mantises, but they're usually invisible--saving on the CGI budget and adding to the fear factor: a Shadow could be ''anywhere'', lurking, spying.
** The Vorlons, who eventually prove to be evil (or rather, Lawful [[BlueAndOrangeMorality Blue]] to the point where it's indistinguishable from Evil), are only ever seen in their encounter suits--again, their natural form is too CGI-heavy to be used that much.

[[folder:Fan Works]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* The monsters under [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes Calvin's]] bed are rarely seen (apparently because they shrivel up and die upon exposure to light). Sometimes, though, you'll see parts of their body in the dark, which don't look terribly cuddly.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Animation]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

** Current consensus is that both versions are true--originally it was a small scar, but the armour he has made to hide it was put on too early, before it was cooled, so he really does have horrifying burns all over his body. Also the scar was not caused by a laboratory explosion but by [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils the demon Mephisto]] scratching his face (the result of said experiment, followed by the explosion) and thus it wasn't simple vanity that drove him to do that; he rushed to put the armour on because he could still feel the demon attacking his face. You could say that Doom's true injuries (or lack thereof) really come from the blows of the comic writers ArmedWithCanon.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/GravityFalls https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gf_beast.png]]]]

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[[quoteright:348:[[Roleplay/RubyQuest https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screenshot_4_3702.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:348:This is about as much as you will ever see of an Ultimate Evil.]]
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* The Forbidden Power in WebAnimation/{{TOME}} this for a good chunk of the series, mostly in Season 1. Becomes less so once its true nature and appearance are revealed towards the end, [[spoiler: though literally being MadeOfEvil gives it points for the Ultimate Evil category even when one considers its "Kajet" body.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', White Diamond, the head of the [[GodEmperor Great Diamond Authority]] that leads the oppressive [[TheEmpire Gem Homeworld]] (and who also has the most colonies of the four Diamonds) and the GreaterScopeVillain of the series, never appeared or was directly mentioned until late in the fifth season. Before then, she only appeared as a stylized mural with the other Diamonds and as a silhouette and a close-up of her hand in a flashback.

* The Akuma - the rank-and-file enemies in ''Manga/DGrayMan'' - are [[PoweredByAForsakenChild each powered by a human soul]] that gets more and more tortured and twisted as the Akuma grows in power and changes form. When a Level 4 Akuma - the most powerful form of Akuma seen thus far, each individual one being a OneManArmy that even Exorcist Generals struggle with - finally makes an appearance, the audience doesn't get to see what its soul looks like as they did when a new level of Akuma makes an appearance, but it was apparently so grotesque to behold that one look caused Allen to [[BrownNote double over and vomit at the sight of it.]]

*** Beast III/L: [[spoiler:Kama/Mara, [[Myth/HinduMythology the Hindu/Buddhist God(dess) of Love]] having [[SplitPersonalityTakeover fallen prey to her darker half]] who wishes to drown humanity in depravity and pleasure.]]

** There's also the Beast-class Servants, seven (eight since one has two halves) powerful beings that each pose a threat to humanity simply by existing. There are several mentions of them and their members in various other [[Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} Type-Moon]] works, but they come into prominence in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder''. Five of them have been confirmed thus far:

*** Beast III-R: [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/FateExtra The Demonic Bodhisattva]], a DarkMessiah who seeks to fulfill her twisted idea of salvation upon the world.]]

* "Videogame/Undertale" has two, both at the Genocide routte:
** First [[HumanoidAbomination The Fallen Child]] who only briefly appears at the end.
** [[EldritchAbomination The Anomaly]] who being the player, never appears in the game, in fact almost no one knows you exist.

* The Source on ''Series/{{Charmed}}''. A good example of what's problematic with showing the Ultimate Evil, as well -- after several seasons of only being mentioned in passing he's finally revealed as a mysterious cloaked figure. With each sucessive appearance, the Source gets more stupid looking and more like a traditional BigBad, until finally he's killed off and replaced with new {{Big Bad}}s. (At this point, "Source of All Evil" is eventually revealed to be a title rather than a literal descriptor.)

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' never shows the true appearance of the {{Toon}} who killed Eddie Valiant's brother. Mind you, this Toon does eventually show up in the movie, but he's disguised as a man. All we see under the [[LatexPerfection rubber mask]] are his {{red eyes|TakeWarning}} -- which are nightmarish enough on their own, given how they're constantly shifting and at one point ''morph into knives'' when he's "staring daggers" at Eddie.