That's a question that's been bugging me as well. For example, for a few seasons of the TV series 24, the "Disc One Final Boss" is an independent villain with their own plans and no connection to the final villain of the season. One example is Season 3 villain Ramon Salazar. While he was ultimately manipulated by someone else, that person's manipulations of Salazar had little-to-nothing to do with the final Big Bad's plans. I think the distinction between Big Bad and Disc-One Final Boss need to be made clearer, as a lot of villains qualify as Big Bads (independent villain with their own goals, behind a number of events, and not beholden to another villain) but are not indicated as such simply because they are defeated before the end of the season/game/whatever. I guess they would still qualify as Arc Villain, but still...
Does it have to be a case where the writers seemed to want you to think it was the last boss but there was no way it could be? The description seems to imply that but I keep seeing examples that aren't like that.
For example, someone listed the fake boss of Megaman 2 as an example but the game could've gone straight to credits right after that fight & it wouldn't have been very odd.
Multiverse Madness
Given the sheer length of the "Video Games" folder, as well as the fact that it's a term that comes from games, would like to suggest putting "Video Games" on its own page.
The fantasy RPG videos that play in my head are amazing. Hide / Show Replies
Moved. Video game examples now on their own page.
The fantasy RPG videos that play in my head are amazing.
But I'm a fucking raspberry!
I don't know how to add another example, so please , add this one for me. In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, your goal from the start of the game is to get revenge on those who ambushed the deal at the beginning. A few missions later, it is revealed that Ricardo Diaz was the one behind the ambush, but when you finally kill him and look at the in-game stats, you see you're only about 30% into the game. [spoiler] The final bosses are actually the man you're working for the entire game, Sonny Forelli, and your own sidekick, Lance Vance. [/spoiler]
Romanian student with leukemia. Casual troper prone to long Wiki Walks. Hide / Show Replies
Done. See Text-Formatting Rules and Example Indentation In Trope Lists and you'll learn everything about example additions. =)
EDIT: Oh, and Wiki Sandbox if you want some practice!
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Are "examples" where the actual Final Boss is only a level away/in the same complex really examples?
Edited by DonaldthePotholer Ketchum's corollary to Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced tactic is indistinguishable from blind luck. Hide / Show Replies
I don't think so. I also see a lot of The Unfought or near Trick Boss examples, like the Castlevania Lords of Shadow one, it builds up Zobek as a Disc-One Final Boss but he's not even a boss..? It just plays out as a Man Behind the Man not this trope.
Does the antagonist to whom this trope applies always have to be an underling, pliant front man, or associate of the story's actual Big Bad? In other words, does this trope apply to villains who appear to be part of a Big Bad Ensemble but are neutralized prior to the story's conclusion after being revealed to be not as resilient or dangerous as the story's ultimate antagonist? Here's an example in which I associated this trope with Nelson Van Alden from Boardwalk Empire in the aforementioned context.