• The MLP: Frienship is Magic/Ace Attorney cross-over Turnabout Storm was a mild WHAM in itself (Equestria had its first murder, Rainbow Dash is the prime suspect, and if proven guilty, she'll be banished to the sun.), but it still retained all of it's quirky humor both series are known for... until near the end of Episode 2. Mr. Wright is in danger of losing this case, every opening and flaw that he ties to exploit in the prosecution's case is easily dismissed by The Great And Powerful TRIXIE, and it's made increasingly more certain that Rainbow Dash will be spending her last moments in the sun. But hey, it gets better right? WRONG. In a desperate move to extend the trial to find more evidence proving Dash's innocence, he delays the sentence by accusing Fluttershy of the murder. The last scene shows poor Fluttershy being taken away to be questioned, Twilight Sparkle being shocked at Phoenix, and even Mr. Wright himself questioning his action. Cue Twilight, and the audience shouting What the hell, Phoenix?
    • And then there's episode 3. Rainbow Dash turns against Fluttershy over her testimony, Ace and Sonata were running a blackmail scheme, Phoenix can't do shit with this revelation because Sonata is hanging his and Pinkie's breaking and entering of Sonata's apartment over his head, and to top it all off, he's lost literally every bit of evidence he's ever acquired during the case. This case just gets bleaker and bleaker...
  • Downfall has Chapter 19. Rukia dies. what makes it even more of a sucker-punch is that, up to that point, this AU's differences were were mostly characters being alive, when they ought to have been dead.
  • The Olympics arc of JLA Watchtower. What started as a relatively light-hearted Titans adventure turned very ugly VERY quickly when Hades declared the Pankration match between Antaeus and Nightwing to be to the death - and Nightwing lost. None of the players/writers save the person running the plot, the Nightwing-mun, and the Hades-mun knew it was going to play out that way. Cue a VERY active 20+ person chat room going to dead silence for five minutes as it sunk in.
    • Ditto with Ra's al Ghul's Plague. You know shit's hit the fan when you have the rookie member of the Arrow family giving CPR to Superman.
    • There was also "Cry for Vengeance" where Dr. Light had the entire JLA on the ropes, had cut off Green Arrow's right arm, and almost turned Ralph Dibny in a pile of melted plastic. Cue one Crowning Moment of Awesome from Sue Dibny of all people, armed with a Green Lantern ring and beating the shit out of Light.
  • Naruto fanfic Team 8 chapter 20. Kurenai dies.
  • The Legacy of Metal's "Guiding Rainbow's Light" has one every other chapter. And it works.
  • The Firefly fanfic Forward has a huge one in the Charity episode.
  • The Gears of War fanfic Phalanx does this in a big way in chapter 8. It undergoes drastic Cerebus Syndrome.
  • The Red vs Blue: Reconstruction series does this in a big way with chapters 16 and 19.
  • Binary, a Kingdom Hearts detective AU. Chapter 13. Kairi is still in the car outside when it explodes, and the others get caught by the Organization
  • Last Swordsman's Requiem, a side work sequel thing to Viandas. Chapter 5: Ok, so the hero has a broken as hell power. So do the villains, and they are better at using it than Thomas. Oh, and Thomas is this close to a Face Heel Turn because of his Super-Powered Evil Side
  • Kyon: Big Damn Hero's chapter 19, Gearing Up Arc I. Kyon is shot.
  • Luminosity diverges from the original Twilight plotline fairly early on, and diverges from it radically some time later, but there aren't really many wham points, just Bella's decisions building. Then Edward dies. Then we find out he isn't dead, and it manages to be another Wham, due to what's left of him. Just about whenever the Volturi show up, really.
  • The Marvel fanfic Not a typical Civil War looks at first like a standard Fix Fic : sure, there are some changes (the proregs, and especially Iron Man, acting less like douches ; Maria Hill jumping the gun more often ; a whole new subplot with Wolverine tracking down Nitro), but otherwise, the main events are kept, and the story unwinds the same way. So, we're heading to the same climax, with the Proregs and the Antiregs about to duke it out. Cue chapter 10... And Doctor Doom appears on a video screen for revealing that A) he actually orchestrated the Stamford Incident and, thanks to a mole in the SHIELD (surprise surprise, it's Maria Hill) and another in the Proreg side (a Doombot version of Hank Pym), he manipulated the events so that a simple disagreement between heroes would turn into an all-out war between two factions ; B) He also CREATED the Sentry thanks to a deal with Mephisto, and he's about to unleash him on their families and the world, before coming out and looking like a hero by stopping him (and considering how Secret Invasion ended, it would probably work) ; C) he released all the villains imprisonned in the Negative Zone Prison, and warned them that he hid a quantum bomb and that he would only teleport those who would be alive at the end of a fight to the death against the heroes ; and D) during this long reveal, he'd been pouring an undetectable knockout gas in the corridor where the heroes are gathered so that they wouldn't be able to put up a fight. And then, time for an epic ending.
  • The specific chapter of the Harry Potter fanfic I Saw My Lady Weep that received the most reviews was Chapter 27 (entitled "In the Ashes and the Dust"), in which Ginny Weasley is suddenly cast into a Muggle emergency room, being a hair's breadth from death. Readers don't find out until the next chapter that she was involved in a car accident.
  • The 24th Wing of In Flight. It revealed most of the skeletons hiding in Shirou's closets to his rather idealistic flock, and boy that is a large closet.
    • He'd managed to keep magic out the explanation, though... until the next chapter when a Fraga magus attacks the Izumo Inn, seriously injures Miya and forces Shirou to reveal his magic. And now we can say that they've seen his skeletons.
  • In "The Game of Three Generals," the final installment of the Elemental Chess Trilogy, the Wham Episodes seem like they just don't stop. First, Fuhrer Grumman's office at Central Command is blown up...with him inside it. Then Roy Mustang (whom the readers know is innocent) is arrested for the crime. A trial ensues, which is gradually revealed to be a full-on sham complete with corrupt judge. At the end, Mustang is found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad.
  • in Trouble, chapter 20, Butch had up and left Rivet City and has been gone for nearly two months. Paradise Falls is destroyed, and it appeared Butch may have died in a fire there. From that point on, Harkness' mentality is never quite the same.
    • Chapter 38: Butch had just blown himself up via a pile of pulse grenades, when already standing on his last legs. The entire chapter is written in binary.
  • Mass Effect fanfic Mass Vexations 2 has chapter 32, which really shakes up the status quo. Until that point, Author Avatar Art had been keeping the fact that he was not from the same universe as the other characters a secret from most of the Normandy's crew, including Shepard. When he deals with an Evil Twin originally from the universe he emigrated to in this loyalty mission, the twin's actions finally push Art over the brink, and he launches into a rant where he decries the evil twin and spills his secret without realizing it... in front of Shepard, who is not happy at this revelation. The fallout from this incident causes the entire crew to find out over the course of chapter 33.
  • The Star Trek Enterprise fanfic series Endeavour by Rigil Kent: it isn't 'til you're several books into the series that it's revealed that Malcolm survived Elysium.
    • And the Star Trek Enterprise fanfic Divergent Paths by the same author: thanks to time-travel being well-established in Star Trek canon the Xindi attack Earth with the finished superweapon.
    • And chapter three of the Star Wars fanfic The Unseen War II: Shattered Dreams by the same author: Winter, Tycho, Han, Jacen, and Jaina all appear to have been killed when the Millennium Falcon was ambushed.
  • Fallout Equestria's 39th chapter. There is so much in this chapter that just hits the reader, it will not be a surprise if they are left a blubbering emotional mess by the end. In a list of things that happen, Twilight Sparkle returns, if only for a moment, and just long enough for Little Pip to give her Pinkie Pie's final message. Steelhooves, who had been established as damn near invincible, is swiftly killed in a brutal manner. Velvet Remedy becomes an emotional wreck after all that she has seen and done in the Equestrian Wasteland, and the discovery of Fluttershy's greatest secret is what finally breaks her. The Canterlot Ruins is destroyed, killing all of the ghouls living there, including Twilight Sparkle's mother. Friendship city is blown apart. To wrap it all up, Ditzy "Derpy Hooves" Doo sacrifices herself by nearly performing a sonic rainboom and attracting missiles to protect her hometown of New Appleloosa, and more importantly, her adoptive daughter Silver Belle. Wham episode indeed...
  • The Cries of Haruhi Suzumiya. Chapter 3, "Keiichi"[1]. Keiichi appears and almost beats Kyon to death. Then Haruhi shows up, and proceeds to blow Keiichi's head off. The chapter ends with Haruhi sinking to her knees, laughing maniacally.
  • In Hunting the Unicorn:
  • New Dawn: Chapter 8: The principal is Aleister Crowley, the Student Council President's not in control of his own organization, and Type V Anti-Hero Dex Anthem is loose. The next chapter ups it with the reveal of Nebiros, a magic using Serial Killer forcing a cartel to work for him in order to complete his agenda.
    • One upped by Chapters 9 and 10: Kyrio might not be dead, and Matthew has no sister. Someone's been fooling around in Matthew's head. Nebiros kills again, and Matthew is introduced to Sorata's organization, which shows him that Nebiros is working with Wayne Reverie, who is the actual mastermind of the School Board.
    • Chapter 11 and 12 are even moreso, with a huge gang war erupting which will have consequences over the course of the next three books, Shira kills a bunch of police, Matthew gains Aura Rave and fries Shira, and Shuuji is revealed to be both a clone and a spy and he never knew it. Oh, and he is dying.
    • Chapter 13 sees Matthew Realize he has a Super-Powered Evil Side, which obliterates the Heavenly Blades in an utterly brutal Curb Stomp Battle. Shuuji brings Matthew back to sanity, but dies moments later to the Artificial Angel monster the Blades had brought with them. Matthew defeats it, and it is revealed to be the Real Shuuji.
    • Chapter 14 deals with A massive prison break, Nebiros deciding to go to Sacramento and kill the remaining people on his vendetta list, and recruiting six people to be his vanguard, with whom he kills a whole SWAT team and sends a message to Matthew through the Team's blood.
  • In With Strings Attached there are several major Wham Episodes:
    • Chapter 8, when John is mutated into a Winged Humanoid, completely changing the way the others deal with him from then on.
    • Chapter 15, when Ringo suddenly crops up with telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities, and John flies in front of the others (who had convinced themselves that he couldn't actually fly), setting off the Fans' efforts to bring the others up to speed.
    • Chapter 25, when Jeft reveals that he was the moving force behind the Vasyn quest and that everything Shag and Varx had believed about the quest was a lie.
    • Chapters 31-32, when Grunnel betrays the four and they are kidnapped or depowered.
    • Finally, the end of chapter 32, when Shag and Varx inform George and Ringo that everything they all (even Jeft) believed about the ultimate purpose of the Vasyn was a complete lie, and that rather than remove the curse on Ketafa, its real significance was to remove the Dalns gods and bring in the Pyar gods.
  • Heta Oni, an Axis Powers Hetalia fangame, has episode 16, which ends with Italy dead (or in a coma), where it's all dark , and he hears someone. He wakes up in a garden, and sees that HOLY ROME is the one he heard. Cue shocked silence of Gerita fans everywhere.
  • Your Best Shot's chapter 7, literally named "Wham Episode". It turns out to be a bad pun.
  • When There Was a Tomorrow: Chapters 10 and 11 are back to back Wham Episodes, revealing that Balak, the Blood Pack, and the Reapers have thrown their lot in with The Covenant.
    • Chapter 14 sees: the possible deaths of Tali and Colonel Ackerson.
  • Avatar:The Last Airbender Revised liberally features Wham Episodes, such as:
    • The Runaway: Zotu's encounter with the ex-Dai Li informant reveals that the Dai Li has brain surgeons in their forces, who tamper with the minds of political dissidents, effectively brainwashing them into obedience.
    • The Gathering Storm: During an emotional evening preceding the massive battle to protect the city of Taku from a legion of Fire Nation soldiers, Ain confesses that he abandoned the Avatar Monks because he accidentally killed his mentor, while Sai reveals that she is actually the heir to one of the greatest fortunes in the Earth Kingdom, the daughter of Lao Bei Fong, one of the EK's regional governors. Then, during the battle, Sakodi commits his first murder, against his friend Enri, who in turn reveals that Omashu has been conquered. After barely winning the battle, the group witnesses large plumes of smoke coming from the south, revealing that the Border Forest has been completely destroyed. Oh yeah, and after her first incapacitation, Jun admits to Indo that his wife is still alive.
    • The Inventor: The Fire Nation's firearms have been completely destroyed, at the expense of the life of their inventor, who was ordered to be executed by Kyasin.
    • The Battle of the Citadel, Parts I and II: Indo reunites with his wife, Xira, who reveals that the brain surgeons of the Dai Li were originally the servants of the FN Royal Family, and thus it is concluded that Aizo ordered that Zotu's memories of his mother be expelled. The Avatar seizes control of Ain and uses its immense power to demolish the Fire Nation Naval Forces, killing thousands of soldiers. However, as the waterbenders are celebrating their victory, word is received that while the battle was taking place, a legion of soldiers swept through the remains of the Border Forest and up the coast, having claimed nearly all of the Earth Kingdom, aside from Ba Sing Se.
  • Touhou Ibunshu: Remixed Cherry Blossom has two, being chapters 7 (Sakuya murders Reimu and Marisa) and 15 (Yukari is suicidal, and planning to take Gensokyo with her).
  • The Dark!Jareth arc of the Mega Crossover fancomic Roommates ... Who thought that that mostly harmless Trickster is capable of attempting to murder his best friend and his love interest and with forced Character Rerailment make the other characters repeat the same villainous acts that destroyed them. And all because he tried to become the hero but the story didn't let him.
  • The MLP: Friendship is Magic/Ace Combat crossover fanfic, Ace Combat: The Equestrian War has chapter 7. Up until this point, no pony or griffon died in the war, even though many soldiers were wounded. In this chapter, Black Star reveals himself to the Mirage squadron, much to Firefly's dismay, and she confesses he is responsible for the death of her parents. As the battle drags on, the ponies end up at a disadvantage and are about to be defeated. Cue Mobius performing a Big Damn Hero moment, defeating three griffins all by himself and saving the pegasi. Since then, the whole story becomes Darker and Edgier, though there are still tender moments of respite.
  • Script Fic Calvin and Hobbes The Series has "The Five Calvins", which is much darker than anything before it.
    • And "Thunderstorm" brings in a competent and serious villain.
  • My Little Avengers has two back-to-back. First, chapter 13 introduces the Dark Avengers, who effortlessly defeat their Avengers counterparts. Then chapter 14 has Loki reveal that the entire plot up to that point was a Gambit Roulette, which ends with him forcing Big Mac to surrender Thor's power. This is the story's Darkest Hour, and things definitely worse before they get better.
  • Imperfect Metamorphosis: Most of "The Storm", a 4-chapter epic duel between the strongest beings Yukari can muster and Yuuka Kazami could qualify. Select moments include: the deaths and sealings of Satori and Flandre, especially the latter, the reveal of Yuuka's true nature as a Brought Down to Normal Old God, and her enforced realization of the presence of every single other universe in existence
  • The Death Note/My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Fusion Fic Death Note: Equestria has chapter 12, which is fittingly styled as a season finale: Following Ray Painter's death, Rarity suffers severe Sanity Slippage until she finally snaps when she deduces that Twilight Sparkle is Kira. She then takes Pinkie Pie hostage and threatens to kill her if Twilight doesn't confess on a live broadcast directed towards L's investigation team. Things spiral out of control, and Rarity ends up actually killing Pinkie while attempting to kill Twilight; when she realizes what she's done, she kills herself. And then we find out that Twilight engineered this entire sequence of events with the power of the Note in order to create a scenario wherein she could earn enough sympathy to be allowed on the team. Byuk is as stunned as the readers.
    • How about chapter 14's reveal that the Second Kira is Fluttershy, of all ponies.
  • Clash of the Elements: Chapter 22 of Part 2. To shortly sum things up... Alpha and Mario have gone to the Realm of Darkness, Alpha is implied to have gone there before in the past, Cackletta may be working with The Heartless (As in the literal trope namers), and the area the two heroes arrive at? The spaceship from Deep Space, where footage found there revealed that everyone aboard the ship were slaughtered by the Heartless a long time ago...
  • The Pony POV Series has several:
    • "Black Pearl" ends with Fluttershy breaking completely and transforming into her Super-Powered Evil Side, Princess Gaia/Nightmare Whisper.
    • "Prologue", and its Sequel Episode the "Generational Transitions" arc. The first reveals that Pinkie Pie is the same character from Gen 3, and is the Sole Survivor of that world, which was Retgoned by the Alicorns and Draconnequi to prevent universal collapse. The latter builds on top of this, also revealing that Celestia was G3 Star Catcher, and it ends with Twilight being given Razzaroo's Apocalyptic Log, which not only causes her to confront Celestia about Equestria's past, but reveals that the Interviewers are more than they appear.
    • "Mind Games 7": Not only is it revealed that Diamond Tiara's actions were what inadvertently finished her mother's Sanity Slippage, but also that Screwball then attempted to kill her, though now she's so lost in her insanity she can't remember it. Also, Discord drops his facade of kindness towards Diamond and makes his true intentions for her clear.
    • "Mind Games 8" Discord completely corrupts Diamond Tiara, and she releases him. Also, as per their deal, Golden Tiara is cured of her insanity, and upon remembering the above incident from when she went insane, has the expected reaction.
  • Chapter 9 of the Homestuck Fanfic Not What We Planned On. John still has some vestige of his flying abilities; Sollux's eyes grow back; Mom, Bro, and Grandpa reveal that they remember playing Sburb as well, and so did John's grandmother when she was alive; all the adults who knew the guardians don't have a clue who they are; a shopping trip to the mall reveals that something is severely messed up with the people in this world; finally, Dave reveals the reason for the previous event: every person they've come in contact with, at least in the mall, has been a consort pretending to be human.
  • Poke Wars has quite a few of these:
    • The Subsistence Chapter 8: Professor Oak dies, and Ash and Pikachu go missing right before the Fearow attack the ranch.
    • The Coalescence Chapter 3: Dawn's Ambipom, Ash's Gliscor, and Misty's Azumarill are killed by the Muk, Tracy goes into a Heroic BSOD after losing the backpack containing the Pokemon from Oak's ranch along with other necessary supplies, and Sabrina dies after teleporting everyone out of the city.
    • Chapter 8: Dawn suddenly demonstrates Improbable Aiming Skills while escaping from the Cloyster, Ash is impaled by one of their attacks while trying to protect her.
    • The Incipience Chapter 2: Ho-oh survived his battle with Mewtwo, took control of his body with an orb of creation, and successfully convinced Kyogre (and by association most of the Pokemon of the sea) to join his cause.
    • Chapter 4: Celebi warns Lugia that Ho-oh will go to war with him and his coalition, then tops it off by revealing she knows how the war is going to end and can't remain in the timeline because of it. Then Lugia reunites with his brother and realizes that he's still angry with him for denying him a mate of his own, and is also going to join Ho-oh's cause.
    • Chapter 7: Ho-oh, hoping to take Regigigas' orb of creation, does battle with him and the Regi Trio; the battle is massive enough that it wipes out most of the surrounding area. After the battle, Regigigas reveals to Ho-oh that he's not the original, meaning that Lugia has long since taken possession of the orb.
    • Chapter 9: Uxie, after joining Ho-oh, quickly explains to him why each of the legendaries will join their respective sides, reveals that he knows where they will likely end up, then when left to his own devices, he realizes that he has the resources to clone Ash.
    • The Exigence Chapter 4: Whitney goes into a Heroic BSOD after seeing the carnage at the ranch, and Solidad falls to her death to give Harley a chance to escape from Raikou.
    • Chapter 6: After nearly killing the Johto group out of bloodlust, Ariados sacrifices himself to save Harley. The chapter then ends with the entire group surrounded by a massive pack of Houndoom.
    • Chapter 8: Banette goes Ax Crazy, realizes that he's doing so, but is killed by a rampaging, Nigh Invulnerable Golem before he can do anything to make up for it.
    • The Defervescence Chapter 2: Uxie declares that the only way to prevent the planet from being further damaged by Pokemon such as the Muk is to wipe them all out, and Ho-oh only goes along with it because he doesn't want Uxie to take charge of his cause.
  1. Seeing as the original chapter names are essentially gone, it's the last "section"