The Man Behind the Man/Playing With

Basic Trope: The true Big Bad is revealed after the Disc One Final Boss is defeated.

• Straight: Lord Bad is defeated, but Emperor Evulz is the real villain all along.
• Exaggerated: Lord Bad was a flunky to Baron Cruel, the Big Bad... who was a flunky to the Big Bad Count Dastardly... who was a flunky to the Big Bad Duke Egregious... who was a flunky to Big Bad King Overly Long Gag... who was a flunky to the final Big Bad Emperor Evulz.
  • Lord bad is only a Elite Mook/ Mook Lieutenant of Emperor Evulz.
• Justified: Lord Bad is commanding Emperor Evulz's forces in the region as the Emperor has matters to deal with elsewhere.
• Averted: Lord Bad and Emperor Evulz have no connection to one another.
  • Lord Bad is the real Big Bad, while Emperor Evulz is stronger, but has no connection to the story and is planning nothing involving the protagonist or his affairs.
• Inverted: Emperor Evulz is just a figurehead with Lord Bad pulling his strings.
• Subverted: Emperor Evulz is not the real villain despite the heroes suspecting this trope.
  • Double Subverted: Except for the fact that he's just pretending to confuse the hero.
• Deconstructed: Emperor Evulz and his minions are so wrapped up in a web of schemes that nobody knows who's really in charge.
• Reconstructed: Emperor Evulz remembers that he is, not his minions.