View source for Villain-Based Franchise

{{trope}}
[[File:rsz freddy collection 6480.jpg|link=A Nightmare on Elm Street|frame|"One, two, Freddy's coming for you"... again and again and again...]]

A series linked by a recurring villain. The heroes and the locations may change or be dropped, but the central link remains the villain. The villain is frequently the [[Big Bad]] of the franchise and most or all of its installments, though this doesn't have to be the case to qualify for the trope.

Not the same as a series with a [[Villain Protagonist]]. Each installment may introduce a whole new set of heroes, but they may still be the protagonists.

Very popular with [[Slasher Movie]]s, probably because the heroes can die off in the end without ruining the series. Often though, the villain will appear to die at the end, to allow closure to the series if another one is not made. [[The End - or Is It?]] ending optional.

The idea started with Pulp novels and villains like [[Fu Manchu]] or [[Fantomas]].

{{examples}}
==  [[Comic Books]] ==
* ''[[The Tomb of Dracula]]'' comic, of course.
* While [[Arch Enemy|Darkhell]] doesn't appears in ''all'' episodes of [[Les Legendaires]], he is still present in a lot of them, and the plot is almost ''always'' related to him: the other villains are usually connected to him ([[The Rival|Skroa]]), attempt to use devices created by him (Ceyderom) or [[Eviler Than Thou|have a fight with him]] (Anathos). Even now that {{spoiler|he finally died}}, new [[Big Bad]] Abyss has been ''created'' by him and considers himself as his heir.

==  [[Film]]  ==
* The ''[[Predator]]'' and ''[[Alien vs. Predator]]'' movies. (the [[Alien (franchise)|Alien]] franchise counts, but not the movie series due to Ripley)
* The ''[[Friday the 13th (film)|Friday the 13 th]]'' series featuring Jason Voorhees. The first movie did not feature Jason as the killer, but his {{spoiler|[[Ax Crazy|crazy]] [[Mama Bear|mom]]}} instead.
* The ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' series featuring Freddy Krueger.
* The ''[[Halloween (film)|Halloween]]'' series featuring Michael Myers.
** Averted by the third movie, which was hated by critics and fans alike.
* The ''[[Child's Play (film)|Child's Play]]'' series featuring Chucky.
* The titular Living Dead are the only common link in the Romero/Russo [[Zombie Apocalypse]] movies.
* ''[[Godzilla]]'', on the occasions that he's a villain.
* ''[[Dracula]]'', with a host of books and movies based off the bloodsucking fiend.
** This gets [[Up to Eleven]] in [[Hellsing]] where the Count is the titled [[Sociopathic Hero]] protagonist  {{spoiler|who ends up victorious. Lampshading the whole 'Dracula returns' at the end}}.
* The ''[[Phantasm (Film)|Phantasm]]'' series featuring the Tall Man.
** Though the heroes return as well . . . sort of
* The ''[[Maniac Cop]]'' trilogy featuring Matt Cordell.
* The ''[[Psycho Cop]]'' duology with Joe Vickers.
* The ''[[Leprechaun (film)|Leprechaun]]'' series with the titular character.
* The ''[[Hellraiser]]'' films eventually became one with [[Ensemble Darkhorse|Pinhead]].
* The sequels of original ''[[Prom Night]]'' tried to become one with Mary-Lou Maloney. She was dropped from the fourth movie.
* ''[[The Ring]]'', especially in Japan.
* ''[[The Stepfather]]'' films with Jerry Blake.
* ''[[Shocker]]'' featuring Horace Pinker was an attempt to create one, but low sales ended these plans.
* The ''[[Warlock (film)|Warlock]]'' trilogy featuring the titular character.
* The ''[[Saw]]'' Franchise. It's the same villain for the first several, then his apprentices take his place.
* The lesser-known ''[[Sleepaway Camp]]'' series.
* Disney Villains.
** Also, most animated Disney films that failed at the box office will inevitably become this. For example, when ''[[The Black Cauldron]]'' failed, the Horned King became the only character from the film to ever appear in the merchandise.
** Although ''[[101 Dalmatians|One Hundred and One Dalmatians]]'' did fine at the box office, this has definitely happened with Cruella de Vil. Since the original release of the animated film, she's become a [[Breakout Character]]. When the live-action films came along, Cruella de Vil was treated as the starring role, with Glenn Close's name written in big letters on all the posters, and she basically became the central character. There's also a Broadway musical, and again Cruella (played by Rachel York) was treated as the starring role.
* The ''[[Night of the Demons]]'' films with Angela.
* The ''Doctor Mabuse'' series is one of [[The Oldest Ones in the Book]], starting before talkies.

==  [[Literature]]  ==
* The ''Night of the Living Dummy'' series from the ''[[Goosebumps]]'' books.
* [[The Silence of the Lambs|Hannibal Lecter]], who became more and more the protagonist as new books came out, though he suffered from [[Badass Decay]].
* Sax Rohmer's [[Fu Manchu]] series—sure, Fu's nemesis Nayland Smith was in all of them, but who got title billing?
* [[Fantomas]], from the series of French pulp novels writen by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre (and later by Allain alone after Souvestre's death) starting in 1911.
* A lot of the Old Republic era of the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] is linked by the Sith. In recent years, [[Hijacked by Ganon|practically every villain in every era has been a Sith.]]

==  [[Tabletop Games]]  ==
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' has, for the last three years, had Nicol Bolas behind practically everything: The reunion of Alara, the [[Title Drop|rise of the Eldrazi]], and he even dispatched his agent Tezzeret to aid the Phyrexians in overtaking Mirrodin.
** And before that, the first ten years of the game (well, once a storyline developed) featured the Phyrexians, the wars they created, and the aftermath of their invasion (to the point that the ultimate [[Big Bad]] of the Odyssey/Onslaught story actually traveled to the ruins of Phyrexia and met what remained of Yawgmoth the Machine-God). Then ''again'' several years later for the ''Time Spiral'' block. Then ''yet again'' as secondary villains for the ''Mirrodin Besieged'' block. They have about fifteen years worth of storyline, while their most constant adversaries (the crew of the ''Weatherlight'') lasted only four.

==  [[Video Games]]  ==
* ''[[Diablo]]'' is based upon its title [[Demon Lords and Archdevils|demon lord]].
* ''[[Castlevania]]'' games are linked by its main villain Dracula. This even extends to the [[Castlevania Sorrow|Sorrow Games]], which are set in the future after Drac's [[Final Death]]. Who is the player character? {{spoiler|His reincarnation!}}
** Really, [[Dracula]] in [[Public Domain Character|all of his incarnations.]]
* With the exception of the fourth game (though they still influence the plot to a degree), ''[[Resident Evil]]'' centers around the Umbrella Corporation and its successors.
* The ''[[Overlord]]'' series. [[Evil Overlord|It's]] in the title. Even then, the Overlords range from degrees of evilness, with the canon ones being more benevolent tyrants, though there's always incredible [[Kick the Dog]] acts in the game.
* The heroes asking the question cycles depending on the series, but they're ''always'' asking the question "Where in |the World/America/Time/Hell/etc.| is [[Carmen Sandiego]]?"
* Possibly ''[[Silent Hill]]'', [[Eldritch Location|if a place can be a villain]].
* Though just Villain ''Named'' Franchise (all games star Samus, after all): both ''[[Metroid]]'' ([[Personal Space Invader|a really dangerous alien species]]) and ''[[Metroid Prime]]'' (though it gets a new name and a new look in the second installment). Perhaps you could say that from their point of view, [[Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds|Samus]] is the villain.
** This goes under [[Antagonist Title]].
* In one way or another, the main stories of the ''[[Fatal Fury]]'' and ''[[Art of Fighting]]'' series seem to revolve around Geese Howard. By the time ''[[King of Fighters]] [[Updated Rerelease|2002 UM]]'' comes around, he's also present in that as a secret boss, [[Beyond the Impossible|out-bossing]] a considerable cast of [[SNK Boss|SNK bosses]]. Also, in [[Capcom vs. Whatever|Capcom Vs SNK]], [[Memetic Mutation|Geese is ratio 6]] when fought as a boss, since you fight him twice as ratio 3, when the highest a character goes in the game, [[Street Fighter|Gouki]] as a secret character, is ratio 4.
* ''[[Command & Conquer: Tiberium]]'' revolves around Kane.
* ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' is so named because the villains in the games start these, with the good guys having to end them.
* Every ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' game in the Xehanort Saga (essentially, every game released between Kingdom Hearts 1-3) is linked by the same mysterious evil figure who just won't stay dead.
* The ''[[MOTHER]]/[[EarthBound]]'' series is a special case. None of the heroes ever return, but the [[Big Bad]] from the first one reappears in the next one, in which a [[The Dragon|Dragon]] for him is introduced.  {{spoiler|The third one then features only [[The Dragon]] from the second one, since the original [[Big Bad]] was killed in the second game.}} A couple of characters ([[Wild Mass Guessing|how many exactly depends on the player]]) from the second game appear, though, and Ness, the hero from it, is referenced a lot.
* Doctor Wily of ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' is one of these. His declaring world domination pushes Rock to undergo the change to Mega Man. Wily is also nfluencing events long after his life thanks to his hand in the creation of the [[Mega Man X|Maverick Virus]].

==  [[Visual Novels]]  ==
* The ''[[When They Cry]]'' series centers around its villains, many of them as the result of progressing insanity. Also an example of a [[Villain Protagonist]], not that the characters themselves realize it until it's too late.

==  [[Web Original]]  ==
* ''[[The Slender Man Mythos]]''. Many authors, many situations, 1([[Wild Mass Guessing|?]]) [[Humanoid Abomination]].
** Its spin-off, ''[[The Fear Mythos]]'', features roughly twenty additional [[Eldritch Abomination|abominations]] running around causing havoc.
* Heck, [[Creepypasta]]s in general.

==  [[Western Animation]] ==
* Each season of ''[[Code Lyoko]]'' has a plot that focuses almost entirely on [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot|XANA]]'s schemes, attacks and evolution. Which is kind of ironic considering he is [[He Who Must Not Be Seen|never actually seen]] [[Ultimate Evil|or heard in person]].

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Creator Speak]]
[[Category:Villain-Based Franchise]]