User blog:KillRoy231/Joss Whedon's pattern

I think I've finally figured it out! Regarding the ultimate antagonist of a series, if there's multiple BigBads then this only applies to the final or ultimate one (like The First)

First, it depends on whether or not the central protagonist is female. If she is, like Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Echo in Dollhouse, then the main villain is seen several times and will be defeated. But only killed if he makes you think the villain is the likeable hero first. Either way there is some closure to the series. If the central protagonist is male, like Angel in Angel or Mal in Firefly, then the ultimate antagonist will never so much as be seen, let alone defeated. Except he/she/they will have one cameo appearance. No more, no less. Also the villain will employ high-ranking minions to act as the "Darth Vader" and directly confront the protagonists. These villains can die or be redeemed, and usually do. In the end something happens to weaken the BigBad's regime, but it ends open that the BigBad will want revenge and it never says how this turns out.
 * The First is utterly defeated as the destruction of his army and the Hellmouth leaves him powerless (or "scrunched")
 * The villain of Dollhouse (not saying his name for major spoilers) you think he's a good guy at first but turns out to be the main villain, and he gets killed

Now I am including Thanos of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in this because the Avengers titles are directed by Joss Whedon, who exercised his licence to kill on Coulson the first chance he got (although sometimes they bounce back, like Spike according to the back of Angel Season 5). Now I think the primary protagonist of the series would be Iron Man, and based on what we know of Guardians of the Galaxy already, I think the MCU will be following Joss Whedon's pattern with Thanos.

First, regarding the BigBads: Second, the one cameo: Third, the "Darth Vaders": (maybe he's a bad example since we do see Emperor Palpatine and Vader destroys him, but he's the best I can think of and I'm more referring to the Vader in Episodes 4 and 5) Last, their fate:
 * In Angel, you have the Senior Partners, who run Wolfram & Hart
 * In Firefly you have the Parliament, who run the Alliance
 * In Avengers you have Thanos, the guy behind Loki, Ronan, and whoever the villain is in Avengers 3. I think Thanos won't appear because they've said that Ronan is working for him but haven't said who's playing him, people are only assuming he is appearing because they said we'll learn more about him in GotG. Which could happen if there's a scene of Ronan, Nebula, and Korath talking about him.
 * In Angel, a Senior Partner appears in an episode. And gets killed by Angel, but the other two still live
 * In the Serenity comic set between the final episode and Serenity, I think it's a member of the Parliament who tells The Operative to chase after Simon and River after the Hands of Blue are killed
 * Thanos appears in the post credits scene of The Avengers so we know who The Other and Loki were working for
 * Angel: I don't know too much about Seasons 2-4, finished Season 1, but obviously there's Holland in Season 1, looks like there'll be Darla in Season 2, and I know there's a Circle of the Black Thorn in Season 5. I'm pretty sure they all die but not too sure about Holland and I won't look it up so I can see it at the right moment
 * In Firefly, there's the Hands of Blue. They themselves are shadowy and mysterious, come near a confrontation in the episode Ariel. In the comic, which I take as canon, Kaylee and Simon fight them before Wash incinerates them. In the movie Serenity their place is taken by The Operative, who switches sides when he learns of the Alliance's true nature.
 * In the Avengers, there's Loki. Thor the Dark World is pretty recent so I don't want to spoil it for anyone. There will be Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy, and I bet there'll be another in Avengers 3. I can think of a good idea for a plot of Thor 3 involving another of Thanos's minions as the villain but I'm not sure if they'll do it or not.
 * Even in Buffy with The First there's Caleb, even though Buffy doesn't follow the same pattern but Joss Whedon wanted there to be a major enemy in Season 7 that Buffy and the gang could actually fight
 * I'm not too sure about Angel, but from what I know, the Circle of the Black Thorn is destroyed, and the Senior Partners send a huge army after Angel. We don't know the outcome of the battle although from the prophecy it's assumed Angel has to win so he can become human (unless that already happened).
 * In Firefly, or rather Serenity, Mal plays a recording to show that the Alliance created the Reavers and covered it up, weakening their regime, but the Parliament will want revenge on Mal, although no longer hunting Simon and River.
 * Is there any reason to doubt something similar will happen with Thanos? His ultimate lieutenant will be destroyed by the Avengers, so we know he's eventually going to step up to fight them, but we never see it as the series will end there.