Chekhov's Gunman: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Any character who is innocuously and unimportantly introduced to the viewer, but who [[Law of Conservation of Detail|later proves to be important]] by the end of the episode.

In other words, they're a human [[Chekhov's Gun]].

 

 

Or, in an episode with [[Two Lines, No Waiting]], a character that seemed to be a [[Bit Character]] in the B plot suddenly becomes a large player in the A plot. On most Cop Dramas, this usually means the two teams are [[Working the Same Case]].

 

 

In video games, such characters are always obvious because they [[You All Look Familiar|look conspicuously different from generic NPCs]], and usually [[Nominal Importance|have a name]].

 

 

May overlap with [[The Dog Was the Mastermind]]. Sometimes used to refer to a writer who constantly uses and/or is particularly skilled with using [[Chekhov's Gun]] or its variants (including the Gunman), such as [[Eiichiro Oda]], author of ''[[One Piece]]'', although this isn't the primary usage.

 

{{examples}}

* In the very first few minutes of ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'', we not only see {{spoiler|a post-timeskip version of Simon}}, we also see {{spoiler|what appears to be Boota's human form.}} Inverted in that {{spoiler|when the plot actually reaches that point in time, the events are very different from those depicted in the prologue.}} Rumour has it that the writers were making it up as they went along.

* In the first episode of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', Shinji sees a vision of Rei in the city before she's even introduced.

** Kaoru Nagisa appears in the OP of every single episode, but goes unintroduced until episode 24.

** Kuroko also makes an early appearance in episode 2, while she only makes her official debut in episode 10.

* The two new tenants of the [[Hidamari Sketch|Hidamari Apartments]], Nori and Nazuna, were de-[[Faceless Masses]]-ized among other admission exam takers in the second season OVA. They were actually introduced in the second episode of the third season.

** Chapter 19 of the manga has Kakashi in bed with two picture frames. One of his current team and one of the team he was in as a kid. We don't see this team in action until chapters 239-244 of the manga and episodes 119-120 of ''Naruto Shippuden''.

** At the end of part I, Sasuke explains to Naruto during their battle that the Final Valley was created when the First Hokage fought his best friend who betrayed him, such is the explanation as to why there are statues of them there. Way late into part 2, we find out that said best friend was {{spoiler|Madara Uchiha, the big bad for the series.}}

* In the ''[[D.N.Angel]]'' anime, Krad is shown in the very first scene (even giving the first spoken line!), but doesn't get a proper introduction until a few episodes later. (And in the manga, his introduction was delayed even more.)

* Selim, son of King Bradley in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]''. Seems like a harmless kid, but later {{spoiler|revealed to be the most dangerous Homunculus of all seven, Pride}}.

** Probably the most extreme example would be the Gold-Toothed Doctor, an unnamed alchemist that shows up very irregularly.

** Kimblee shows up for a short aside really early, but isn't seen until something like three years later (in real life time). A lot of people don't realize how long a gap there is, because he escaped from prison and was much more active much earlier on in [[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|the 2003 anime]]. That, and he showed up in the flashback volume of the manga, before he was released from prison. Arakawa was clearly itching to get to him.

** Selim is this in the 2003 anime too; the difference is he ends up being directly responsible for {{spoiler|Mustang beating Bradley}}.

** And let's not forget the even more minor Lyra, who appears in episode 4 of the first anime as Yoki's assistant and later {{spoiler|has her body stolen and becomes host to the biggest of the Big Bads.}}

* In an early story arc of ''[[Blade of the Immortal]]'' a character is introduced, but disappears at the end of the arc with their story apparently self-contained and complete. Many, ''many'' volumes later, guess who shows up at the side of [[Complete Monster]] {{spoiler|Shira}}? {{spoiler|Kawakami Araya's son Renzo.}}

* Mishio in Makoto's arc of ''[[Kanon]]'', and in the Kyoto Animation version, all the major girls.

* In ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'', the girls are given a seemingly pointless "mascot", Mokona, to accompany them on their quest. {{spoiler|In the second series, it is revealed that Mokona is literally [[God]].}}

** Pointless? How many other mascots are both a [[Bag of Holding]] and a camper, all in one?

** The Sandile with sunglasses from the third episode of ''Best Wishes'' appears again in episodes 12 and 20 (in the latter, it evolves into Krokorok).

* The ''[[Pokémon Special]]'' manga is full of them. Nearly every minor character introduced early on becomes important to the plot later. The biggest example would be {{spoiler|the little girl Red saves randomly in one chapter of the first Arc}} who later turns out to be {{spoiler|Yellow, the main character of the second arc.}}

** Similarly the ''Gold''/''Silver'' arc ends with {{spoiler|Professor Oak confronting an offscreen child who wants to be a Pokémon trainer, in what is seemingly a throwaway homage to his opening monologues from the first Pokémon games. However, a few hundred chapters later in the Emerald arc, it's revealed that the nameless child was actually Emerald and that confrontation was part of his long journey towards becoming a Pokémon trainer.}}

* In ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', the episode that introduced Sailor Venus had her appear (in civilian form) in the background of a scene earlier in the episode. The camera also did a long pan on her and Artemis to make sure you didn't miss her. So it wasn't much of a surprise when she showed up later saving the Sailor Senshi. Of course it ''was'' more of a surprise in the English dub, because they cut the long pan entirely and only the most eagle eyed of viewers could have spotted her before she got covered by a CGI screen transition.

** A shot of her as Sailor V actually appeared in the first episode (cut from the dub sadly) while Usagi and Naru are talking about her latest heroic deeds. She's referenced every so often from then on until she appears many episodes later in person briefly as a civilian and then Sailor Venus (wearing the Sailor V mask) as mentioned above

** On the Manga side, throughout ''[[Codename: Sailor V]]'' the other Sailor Senshi appear with minor background speaking roles, though not directly interacting with Minako. The Live action has a similar prequel known as Act Zero: Birth of Sailor V where they have minor background roles (Except Usagi who is saved by Sailor V)

* Many, ''many'' people in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''. A few of the more notable ones:

** {{spoiler|Chao Lingshen.}} Yes, merely saying the name is a spoiler. {{spoiler|First seen hawking her restaurant's food in the first chapter of the manga, she goes on to be the [[Big Bad]] of the Mahora Festival arc. She's also Negi's descendant.}}

** A picture of Ala Rubra appears as early as chapter 53. In it, of course, are Jack Rakan, Albireo and Zect. Plus Takamichi's mentor Gatou. We still don't know what's up with that guy, only that he {{spoiler|taught Takamichi and Asuna [[Yin-Yang Bomb|kanka]] and erased Asuna's memory. Right before dying, which is his exclusive domain in this series, even in flashbacks.}}

* ''[[One Piece]]'' is chock-full of these, given that [[The Producer Thinks of Everything|Oda planned the whole story from the start and had all characters ready in place]] since he planned ''One Piece'' to last only five years, only to find himself enjoying it too much and having far more support than he imagined. People that were chilling in the background or just mentioned in passing will turn out to be vitally important to the plot. There are a lot of examples, but perhaps the best example is also the most recent. During a battle, Buggy the Clown relates his relationship to Shanks in the form of a flashback, and it opens with an argument between him and Shanks being broken up by the ship's first mate, who appears in two panels and is not mentioned again. Almost ''500 chapters later'', we learn that this man is {{spoiler|Silvers Rayleigh, who is both the man that the straw hats need to alter their ship for undersea travel, and the former first mate... of ''Gold Roger!''}}

** Almost equally sneaky is the Laboon arc. The Straw Hats end up meeting a depressed whale the size of an island, and Crocus, the old man who takes care of the whale. We find out that Laboon's depression comes from the fact that his old crewmates left him and never came back. It's assumed that they all died or fled the Grand Line. As we learn in the Thriller Bark Arc, the entire crew did die. {{spoiler|However, one of them came back. Brook's Devil Fruit revived him as an afro-sporting skeleton, whose only remaining purpose in life is to fulfill his promise to Laboon, which leads to him joining the Straw Hats. Oh, and Crocus was another member of Gold Roger's crew at some point, or knew him, or something.}} And later with Crocus, Luffy asked him to be their doctor soon after learning he'd been a ship's doctor once, and was turned down. {{spoiler|Rayleigh reveals that Crocus journeyed with them for three years, with the goal of locating Brook's crew, to keep Roger's illness at bay}}. These major points are just a few of the big problems with 4Kids' choice to cut the Laboon arc out of their dub of the anime.

** Oda loves these so much that he might [[Scrubs|even be sleeping with them]]. A presumably bad Marine official that was introduced in ''Koby and Helmeppo's Chronicle of Toil'', was many chapters later shown to not only be the person that cornered Gold Roger several times, but also {{spoiler|Luffy's grandfather.}} Then there was the mysterious Dragon that helped the Straw Hats in chapter 100; he was later revealed to be a famous revolutionary and (much later) {{spoiler|Luffy's father}}.

** In the beginning of the Arlong Arc, Jinbei, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea was mentioned. This was in 1999. He made his first appearance in the Impel Down arc. In 2009. And now, in 2011, he's {{spoiler|fighting alongside the Straw Hats in the currently-ongoing Fishman Island arc. Plus there are several [[Wild Mass Guessing|fan theories]] that he'll be the next new Straw Hat member, with a huge body of supporting evidence for the idea}}.

** On [[Wretched Hive|Jaya Island]], three men appear causing trouble around a town. Not only are they {{spoiler|part of the [[Psycho Rangers|Blackbeard Pirates]], an incredibly powerful pirate crew}}, the random bar patron that Luffy almost got in a brawl with is {{spoiler|''<s>one of</s> the series' [[Big Bad]]''}}.

* A major antagonist in ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'' largely responsible for the hunt on the hero's [[The Mafia|family]] (and {{spoiler|the hero's death-in-the-future}}) is revealed to be {{spoiler|Irie Shouichi, a seemingly random kid who appeared in one chapter to be traumatized by the wacky antics of the hero's [[The Mafia|family]] ''fourteen'' volumes ago.}}

** Subverted now, since {{spoiler|it was all a very, very complicated [[Batman Gambit]], co-produced by the allegedly deceased hero himself.}}

* Kamemon in ''[[Digimon Savers]]''. All he does is silently wander around DATS headquarters serving tea, until {{spoiler|it turns out he's just shy, and is actually the Digimon partner of Yushima, local head of DATS and the [[Cool Old Guy]] who randomly shows up to give Masaru advice. Even after ''that,'' he and Kudamon are revealed as agents sent by Yggdrasil to spy on humans. Doubles as [[Let's Get Dangerous]] when he gets to show off his [[Evolutionary Levels|later evolutions]], Gawappamon and Shawujingmon.}}

* ''[[Kyouran Kazoku Nikki]]'' features an odd girl with pink hair dressed like a butterfly who can often be seen in the background for the first 12 episodes. Then comes episode 13, where she is finally introduced: she is [[wikipedia:Raicho Hiratsuka|Hiratsuka Raichou]], {{spoiler|considered by Ouka's Supernatural Phenomenon Treatment Bureau to be their biggest mistake and "[[The Empire]]'s biggest traitor". Despite this, she has somehow become ''the Head of the Bureau'', and is therefore the person in charge of "Operation Cozy Family", with all signs pointing to her as a future [[Big Bad]].}}

* In the 9th volume of the manga ''[[Rave Master]]'' {{spoiler|Lucia Raregroove appears in a flashback. He and his mother are promptly killed off as part of his father's [[Freudian Excuse]] for [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]].}} However, in the very same volume {{spoiler|King pulls a [[Heel Face Turn]], leading to the [[Redemption Equals Death|obligatory]] [[Heroic Sacrifice]]}}, leaving the manga without a [[Big Bad]], with the story less than 1/3 completed. A few chapters later, guess who shows up to take over the role of [[Big Bad]] for the rest of the story's run? Turns out, {{spoiler|Lucia was [[Not Quite Dead]], after all. His mom was [[Killed Off for Real]], though, as far as anybody knows.}}

** Also Resha, who gets mentioned by Deerhound a little while before her '''massive''' significance to the story is revealed, and Saga Pendragon, who comes up as the one who made the prophecy about the 'two winds meeting' and later turns out to be {{spoiler|the reason Resha faked her death to be able to aid the future}}.

** And then the man in the trenchcoat in the scene where Isaac's ear gets crushed is is {{spoiler|the Martillo Family's Ronnie Suchiart, aka the devil from the Advenna Avis.}} He plays a larger role in the light novels.

* If you thought that {{spoiler|Michelo Chariot}} and {{spoiler|Sir Gentle Chapman}} were one-time rivals for [[G Gundam|Domon Kasshu]]... boy, were you ''wrong''. {{spoiler|Michelo joins the Devil Gundam group and later Gentle Chapman [[Came Back Wrong|is revived as a DG zombie]] by them}}

** The first is Tetsuya Kouji, whose mech gets blown to smithereens in episode 1, leaving him [[Put on a Bus|in the hospital]] for most of the series. {{spoiler|He shows up as a [[Big Damn Heroes|Big Damn Hero]] in the last arc.}}

** The second is Anna's [[Chekhov MIA|missing father]], who is mentioned in an early episode and then {{spoiler|pretty much does the same thing as Tetsuya is the final arc.}} And the kicker? {{spoiler|This is a ''double'' example, since he was also the priest performing the main heroes' wedding in the first episode.}}

* ''[[Bleach]]'': At the end of the Soul Society arc, Aizen leaves Seireitei via negaccion and the shinigami left behind observe that there's something in the garganta behind the gillians, the only sign of which is a giant eye. Hundreds of chapters later during the battle for Karakura Town, Wonderweiss appears with his giant pet, Fuura, a misshapen being with one giant eye and the ability to destroy Yamamoto's flames that are trapping Aizen. It's revealed Fuura was the creature that was hovering behind the garganta at the end of the Soul Society arc.

** And who could forget that in the first chapter of ''Bleach'', on the colourpage, one can find Shinji Hirako... who doesn't get introduced until nearly 200 chapters later.

** Ange isn't the only one. In fact, Episode 1 contains references to every other Episode so far. Other notable character namedrops include {{spoiler|Gaap}} and {{spoiler|Goldsmith}}, which actually are pretty inconspicuous at the time.

** The TIPS for Eiserne Jungfrau in Episode 5 mention the "SSVD" and its leader, "Wizard-Hunting Wright" or "Twenty Wedges". {{spoiler|Guess who shows up in Episode 7, armed with S.S. Van Dine's 20 commandments?}}

* In an early chapter of the ''[[Soul Eater]]'' Baba Yaga arc, Kid and Maka notice the presence of two people following them. One of whom is a ''monkey'', which both find funny. All we're told is that, though Shinigami told Medusa otherwise, the Shibusen group is being followed by Death Scythes and their meisters, although it ''appears'' to just be Azusa with her long-range communication/sniping skills. Chapter 59 sees Maka being saved from Medusa by the appearance of a monkey and a man in a bear suit, who turn out to be the South American Death Scythe Tezcatlipoca and his meister Enrique (the monkey).

* The woman whose skirt keeps getting flipped in ''[[Gate Keepers]]''. {{spoiler|[[Big Damn Heroes|She saves the Commander and his secretary in the final episode]]}}.

* In ''[[Death Note]]'', Light goes through a period of dating other girls much to Misa's chagrin. We get a good look at one of them, Kiyomi Takada, who shows up again near the end of the series and {{spoiler|proves pivotal to Light's defeat.}}

** You know those [[I Know Your True Name|nameless]] [[Gondor Calls for Aid|extras]] standing around in the background of Episode 23? Turns out that a good portion of the plot hinges on their presence.

* ''[[Oniisama e...]]'': Years ago, there was a little girl who played in the rain and she once saw a pre-teen boy and she tried to talk to him, but he ran away. That young boy's name? {{spoiler|Takehiko Henmi, the tutor ''and'' stepbrother of the aforementioned girl, Nanako Misonoo.}}

* [[Inukami!]] There's this kappa that hangs out in the background for a few episodes. In the climax {{spoiler|he saves Keita's life.}}

 

* '' [[Scott Pilgrim]]'' volume 3 features a cameo of a mystery man who then turned out to be {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|Gideon Gordon Graves]]}}.

* [[Hellblazer|John Constantine's]] official first appearance is in ''[[Swamp Thing]]'' #37. But in #25, there's a background character in a crowd scene who looks suspiciously similar to Constantine.

* The first page of ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]'' features a red-haired man holding a sign that reads "[[The End Is Nigh]]." He appears a few more times and doesn't seem very important-- {{spoiler|until Rorschach's mask comes off halfway through}}.

* In the ''[[Blackest Night]]'' event, Tales of the Lantern Corps #3 gives Kilowogg some [[Character Development]] by showing his own training as a rookie lantern by [[Expy|Lantern Ermey]]. {{spoiler|In [[Green Lantern Corps]] 41, we see Ermey return as a Black Lantern}}

* Practically anyone who has ever appeared in the [[Web Comic|Prelude]] but not in the graphic novel of ''[[Dreamkeepers]]'' is suspected to be one of these.

 

 

* In ''[[Time Braid]]'', {{spoiler|[[Super-Powered Evil Side|Demon Sakura]]}} is this. You think she's gone after a forced merge early on, but then she's discovered in a kind of 'inactive aspects' area of Sakura's [[Mental World]], and Sakura uses her to guard the box containing the memories she doesn't want [[Big Bad|Sasuke]] to see. Later, {{spoiler|her mastery of the Sharingan is used to give Sakura the chance at her [[Heroic Sacrifice]], and afterwards she becomes half of Sakura's new [[A God I Am|demon/kami split axis]]}}.

* In ''[[Hogyoku Ex Machina]]'', after [[Bleach|Ichigo's]] [[Peggy Sue|time traveled]], he and other characters try to avoid future crisis' by planning ahead and/or making peace with would-be enemies. This includes [[Filler|anime filler arcs]] and [[Non-Serial Movie|movie continuities]], so it wasn't unusual to see {{spoiler|Muramasa}} involved. At the {{spoiler|final battle, though, he saves Ichigo's life which completely thwarts Aizen's plans. Without him there, [[The Bad Guy Wins|the bad guy would have won]]}}. Yep, a {{spoiler|[[Filler Villain|former filler villain]]}} was ''that important''.

* In ''[[Forward]]'', Ashley Frye bumps into a drunk man in a bar while looking for information about her sister Kaylee. This later turns out to be John Garis, an agent of the Academy who's after River, and he saves Ashley from {{spoiler|Jubal Early}}.

* In ''[[Calvin at Camp]]'', Calvin throws a water balloon at Sally, early on in the episode "Champion Charlie Brown." {{spoiler|She comes back later and has him arrested by the Urban Rangers for it, playing right into Lucy's hands.}}

 

== Films -- Animation ==

* The cat in the film adaptation of ''[[Coraline (animation)|Coraline]]''.

* In ''[[Shrek|Shrek the Third]]'', Shrek needs to find Arthur, and in his search, he has reached a football-alike field, to find out a brave, strong, handsome warrior riding a horse, attacking with a lance a poor excuse of a man. You have found the one and only King Arthur, showing off his supreme skills with a lance against a faceless, dull boy... {{spoiler|oh, wait, is the other way around...}}

* The dragon incense burner from ''[[Mulan]]''. He's actually Mushu.

* [[Big Bad|Mother]] [[My Beloved Smother|Gothel]] from ''[[Tangled]]'', according to the film's prologue.

* If you look very closely at the crowd attending Bob/Mr. Incredible and Helen/Elastigirl's wedding near the beginning of ''[[The Incredibles]]'', you can actually see several superheroes such as Gazerbeam, Dynaguy, and Stratogale among the crowd. Those superheroes are later revealed by Edna Mode to have been killed by either the Omnidroid or by some cape-related accident.

* Boingo in ''[[Hoodwinked]]''.

* If you look very closely when Simba runs up to wake his father Mufasa near the beginning of ''[[The Lion King]]'', you can actually see Nala sleeping with her mother Sarafina for a few seconds.

* Oogie Boogie, the main villain of ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'', actually first appears as a singing face on the Moon during the song "This is Halloween."

* Doctor "The Shadow Man" Facilier, the villain of ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'', is first seen as a customer at the restaurant Tiana is working at as a waitress.

* [[Pixar]] likes to do this a lot with characters from their future films starting with ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]''. In that case, it's [[Finding Nemo|Nemo.]]

 

 

* In ''[[Casa De Mi Padre]]'' DEA Agent #2 seems like a throw away character until {{spoiler|he shoots DEA Agent Parker whose about to kill the protagonist Armando near the end of the movie}}.

** The two ranchhands also serve as such, as when Armando runs out of bullets on his rifle {{spoiler|the two come just in time to bring a second rifle to him so he can kill Onza}}.

* Scudder in ''[[Maurice]]''. In the book he's foreshadowed subtly several times; in [[The Film of the Book]], he gets one awkward scene where he (as a random servant) is asked ''by name'' to do some menial task.

* Mickey in ''[[Scream (film)|Scream]] 2'' {{spoiler|is bafflingly revealed to be the killer}} at the end of the film. Prior to this, he was a minor character who occasionally got into semi-amusing arguments about movie sequels.

* One of the strangest appearances of a Chekhov's PERSON, in the horror-porn film ''One-Eyed Monster''. Veronica, the old whore who has spent most of the entire movie in an unconscious coked out stupor, saves the day by intercepting and preventing Ron Jeremy's detached alien-possessed member from cumming, causing an incredibly huge explosion that takes out her and the alien. As she puts it "Have you ever heard of what I can do when I'm on my cankles? I can catch a bullet with this thing. ''(flexing legs back and forth suggestively)''" As to the reason for her sacrifice? She's "47 and the world is no place for senior citizens."

* In ''[[Devil]]'', the old woman goes largely unnoticed thanks to the other elevator occupants' behavior and {{spoiler|her dying second}}. At the end she's revealed to be {{spoiler|the titular Devil}}. Also Tony, who at the end is revealed to be {{spoiler|the man who accidentally killed the main cop character's wife and kid in a car accident five years earlier}}.

* In ''[[Predators]]'', the character of Edwin seems like an immediate candidate. Initially, he stands out as a normal person in a group of badass killers, leading the genre savvy Royce to wonder why Edwin was kidnapped along with them. For much of the film, he lives up to his normal reputation, with the only major break in action being briefly stabbing a Predator in a moment of desperation. Brilliantly, Royce almost manages to subvert the trope by theorising that the Predators took Edwin in order to add a "human" element to the group, that may end up dividing them. He's almost right...

* ''[[Thor (film)|Thor]]'' has [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|The Destroyer]].

* In ''Unconditional Love'', the killer turns out to be {{spoiler|the window washer, who'd been seen in the background earlier in the film}}.

 

== Literature ==

* In a party scene in ''Arrows of the Queen'', the first of the ''[[Heralds of Valdemar]]'' novels, a throwaway line mentions Queen Selenay sitting next to a Herald with streaks of white in his hair at either temple. This turns out to be Herald Eldan, who has a significant role in ''By the Sword''.

** Similarly, both Herald Lavan Firestarter (''Brightly Burning'') and Herald Vanyel (''The Last Herald-Mage'') are mentioned as historical personages long before [[Mercedes Lackey]] wrote a book/trilogy about them.

* Also done in books two and three of Cinda Williams Chima's [[High Fantasy]] smash hit, [[The Seven Realms Series]]. In book two, [[The Hero|Han]] convinces [[Action Girl]] Catarina to study at the temple school at [[Academy of Adventure|Oden's Ford]], an area of the school known for producing the most refined maidservants in all of the Seven Realms. In book three, Han needs someone he can trust near [[Rebellious Princess|Raisa]], but someone that can also defend her. Turns out those skills Cat got came in handy.

* The ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' books did this ''to death'', along with the other Chekhov's tropes. There were characters introduced in every book who became plot critical later, both in each individual book and across the series. There were even numerous instances of character actually being revealed to be important more than once.

** Sirius Black, mentioned in passing in the first chapter of the first book and revealed two years later to be the title character of the third book.

** Both Broderick Bode and Sturgis Podmore were offhandedly mentioned throughout ''OotP'', and were thought to be the most insignificant of characters until Hermione brilliantly pieced it all together and figured out what had happened. (Bode even had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it introduction in the ''previous'' book.)

** Rufus Scrimgeour is offhandedly mentioned by Order of the Phoenix members in the fifth book before taking over as Minister for Magic in the sixth.

* In [[Sandy Mitchell]]'s first ''[[Ciaphas Cain]]'' short story, we are introduced to Cain's rather smelly and loyal [[Sidekick|aide]] Jurgen, who doesn't look like he'll have much relevance except for jokes on how he puts people off with his atrocious hygiene standards. {{spoiler|Later on, it turns out Jurgen is an ''extremely'' potent "blank," someone who negates psychic powers and harms daemons simply by being in proximity to them, and his becomes a constant and critical plot point throughout the rest of the novels.}} His absolute loyalty and obedience to Cain also play important roles.

* ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' is very prone to this - the main opponent of a book will almost definitely be someone who was introduced in an earlier book, quite possibly ''Grave Peril''.

** ''[[Turncoat]]'' has another major one: {{spoiler|The obnoxious little secretary wizard who tries to get Harry to sign for a folder he was getting off the record turns out to be (one of) the traitor(s) on the Council. And he was actually trying to get Harry to sign because he was using special ink for signatures to screw with the wizards' minds.}}

** Said character was actually introduced as far back as ''Summer Knight'' in passing.

* Early on in ''[[A Tree Grows in Brooklyn]]'', Sissy chats with a nameless policeman who tells her his wife is an invalid. A few years later, her sister Katie meets a policeman named McShane, whose wife has tuberculosis. {{spoiler|He keeps track of her, and they marry several years later after both their spouses have died}}.

* ''[[American Gods]]'': {{spoiler|Shadow's old cellmate, Low Key Lyesmith}}. Keep in mind that Norse gods play a huge role in the book, and he is actually {{spoiler|Loki Lie-smith}}.

* In [[Tad Williams]]' ''[[Otherland]]'' series, the side plot involving Olga Pirovsky is treated with a great deal of significance even though it's not initially apparent how her mysterious headaches have anything to do with the main story. Even when she's tasked by [[The Chessmaster|Sellars]] to [[Dressing as the Enemy|infiltrate]] the headquarters of J Corp, it seems like her role is fairly straightforward. Then comes [[The Reveal]], and she turns out to get the biggest [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] in the whole series.

* Early on in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', Old Gaffer Gamgee mentions his son, [[Hypercompetent Sidekick|Sam]].

** Not to mention Boromir's passing references to [["Well Done, Son" Guy|his father]], the Steward of Gondor, who becomes a major character in ''The Return of the King''.

* In ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', Lúthien Tinúviel is introduced off-hand by Tolkien simply as the daughter of Thingol and Melian, but later, as we all know, plays a major part in {{spoiler|retrieving a Silmaril}} by owning Sauron's face and tricking Morgoth himself and proving herself to be totally [[Badass]].

* In ''[[Red Storm Rising]]'', the Soviet Union, suddenly faced with a crippling oil shortage, decides to conquer the Middle East for oil. To do this, they first need to eliminate the threat NATO posed to the operation. Their plan was to detonate a bomb within the Kremlin, killing several staff members and 8 children from the city of Pskov, then blame it on West Germany and invade, hoping that the other western nations would object to being bled white to defend what they would see as a terrorist regime. The funeral is described in great detail, and the viewpoint character of the segment, a non-voting politburo member named Sergetov, focuses on a grief stricken captain of paratroopers, whose daughter's body was so mutilated that her face was draped in black silk for the open-casket ceremony. Near the end of the book, the chairman of the KGB and Sergetov join up with the most senior surviving Soviet general (most of the rest had been shot for failure) in a coup to prevent the deployment of nuclear arms at the battlefront. After taking power, the general turns to the KGB man and the following conversation takes place (paraphrased):

'''Aide:''' For my little Svetlana, who died without a face. ''(fires)'' }}

* [[Matthew Reilly]] tends to introduce these early in the book when they become useful.

* In ''[[Lunar Chronicles]]'' by Marissa Meyer, it is mentioned that Princess Selene of the moon had died in a fire- but that no body had been found, just some pieces of burnt flesh. Turns out that Cinder- the cyborg protagonist- was really {{spoiler|Princess Selene, who had been rescued successfully and had been given artificial replacement parts!}}

* In [[Dangerous Fugitives]], Wilson appears to just be a deputy to the [[Big Bad]]. {{spoiler|He ends up saving the day.}}

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* Just who the heck was that no-name crewman on ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]''?? Nobody important, just a time-agent from a thousand years in the future who's secretly defending the ''Enterprise'' and its crew from interference from other time-agents trying to alter the timeline. Nothing really big...

** Though this is a particularly inept version as he'd never actually appeared in the series before, so his sudden prominent role was a big tipoff that something was going on.

* ''[[NCIS]]'' is a bit of a repeat offender on this one. If someone gets a line but doesn't seem to be contributing to the main plot otherwise, they did it. (If the writers try to hide their non-involvement by stuffing them into a romantic subplot with a main character, they ''definitely'' did it.)

** Subverted in a recent episode, where the villain of the romantic subplot had not done it, even though he was suspected by a majority of the cast.

*** Oh, [[The Prime Suspect Never Did It]]. (Unless the prime suspect changes before the final ad break, in which case it was definitely the original suspect what done it.)

** This can also be used in reverse... if there ARE no outstanding single line characters, the villain MUST be one of the major characters for the week. This is easily seen in a first season episode where the villain turned out to be {{spoiler|David Keith, the sympathetic father and husband of the kidnapping victims and the very target of the plot!}}

** The Miniature Killer, anyone? She appeared for about three seconds at the end of an episode, cleaning the floor in the lab, and later went on to be revealed as the killer.

* ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' loves this trope so much they pulled it ''twice''. ''In the same episode''. The villain in Mayhem {{spoiler|is actually two villains: the young teenage citizen who calls 911 to help Hotch, and the paramedic who comes to save them, violating the FBI's direct orders not to interfere.}}

** Ethan Rom, who had a brief appearance in a season one episode before the next episode revealed him {{spoiler|as one of the Others}}. He then makes several other appearances throughout the series (despite {{spoiler|being dead}}).

* The same thing happened to some random [[Mook]] of Apophis' in the ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' pilot. He didn't even get any lines until he saves all of the main characters near the end. Teal'c went on to join SG-1, and become one of only two characters to remain a main character for all ten seasons.

* Meanwhile on ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'', the Ancient that becomes known to SG-1 as Merlin (Moros) slips in a cameo appearance nearly ''three years'' before he's even alluded to on ''SG-1''.

** In the ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' pilot "Rising", O'Neill's pilot (pun not intended) initially seems like a throwaway character... until he waltzes into the Antarctic outpost and it turns out that he possesses the Ancient gene, and is immediately recruited into the Atlantis Expedition. Turns out the pilot, Major Sheppard, is [[The Hero]] of the new series.

** Another example from this show is the character Helo, who was meant to be a one-shot character in the pilot movie. He was well-received by fans, and there were enough inquiries about the fate of the character that they decided to keep him alive. He ultimately became an important character in the overall mythology of the series.

** This might be evidence of a complete lack of planning, or just a willingness to change course based on feedback or spontaneous ideas that crop up later, while keeping other previously planned details intact. [[Word of God]] was generally quite open about explaining in the podcast when something was spontaneous rather than planned, even down to changing the script based on actor improvisation.

* Early episodes of ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'' often showed someone watching the Connors, although usually all we could see was an arm with a barcode tattoo. Derek Reese (and, yes, he is related to Kyle) eventually became one of the series leads.

* Frasier Crane's first appearance on ''[[Cheers]]'' (Season 3, Episode 1: "Rebound, Part 1") was as a nameless bar patron, until Diane sprung it on Sam that her shrink happened to be at the bar, observing them the whole time! Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) eventually stayed on long after Diane (Shelley Long) left the show, and eventually got his own spin-off.

*** Apparently, Steve Perry only let the show use "Don't Stop Believing" {{spoiler|if no one died}} so in a way, Word of God says {{spoiler|Tony survived.}}

** Played straight by Tony's cousin, Tony Blundetto, whose actions in the fifth season are arguably the main catalyst for the New York-New Jersey War in the last season.

** Blue Sun was one of the results of Executive Meddling. Fox wanted a [[Big Bad]], Fox got a big bad. They put the Blue Sun logo on the cargo containers in the pilot post-production.

* Eagle-eyed viewers of the classic ''[[Degrassi Junior High]]'' will spot numerous "extras" milling around the school that would later go on to play a major role in the series. One of whom was Spike, who wasn't even named for some time despite evolving into the crux of the drama at the end of the first season and turning into one of the franchise's longest running characters. You can see her at the school dance in the ''second episode'' as a throwaway character... making out with the guy who would later be the father of her child.

* In ''[[Space Sheriff Gavan]]'', during one episode Gavan manages to get to the victim of the day before the monster of the week kills him and gets him to safety. He'll live, but only if he gets medical treatment at Gavan's home planet. So he's shipped off to Planet Bird and never spoken of again, until he shows up during the final battle in a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment as Sharivan the newest Sheriff. Turns out [[Da Chief]] of the Space Sheriffs approved of his toughness and had him inducted into the Sheriff (actually it was because they found out while treating him that was really the [[Chosen One]] for a supposed lost race of people.) He would go on to be the hero in the next series Space Sheriff Sharivan.

* The Observer in ''[[Fringe]]'' appears as a bald [[The Men in Black|Man In Black]] in the background of every episode that nobody seems to notice. In Episode 4 we learn more about him, and that he's somehow connected to the odd incidents that the main characters are investigating.

* "Doctor Saunders" in ''[[Dollhouse]]''. {{spoiler|Not only do we find out that she's a doll, but when she reappears in a recent episode ("Getting Closer") she closes the episode by shooting Bennett Halverson ([[Summer Glau]]). So she's literally a gunman.}}

* A one-off villain who tries to get Angel to off himself in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'''s third season, plus its minions who live under a Christmas tree lot, seems like a relatively innocuous villain of the week, until it all comes back four seasons later as the [[Big Bad]].

** We first meet Wilfred Mott as he's running his newsstand on Christmas Eve during ''Voyage of the Damned'', then he becomes much more important later on.

** In the episode that introduces Martha Jones, an old lady keeps appearing in the background, asking various people for help while aliens are causing chaos, making the audience think she's just a confused and clumsy old lady. Then it's revealed that {{spoiler|she's actually the blood-sucking villain the aliens are looking for.}}

** {{spoiler|It's also implied that the only reason that this worked at all was because the time period was so short.}}

* ''[[Sherlock]]'': Molly introduces her new boyfriend, Jim, early in the last episode of the first series. In the last scene, {{spoiler|he is revealed to be Moriarty.}}

* ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' includes a straightforward [[Chekhov's Gun]] with Excalibur, which is burnished by dragon's fire during the episode and thrown into a forest lake at its conclusion. The next season introduces a [[Mysterious Waif]] called Freya, who dies during the course of the episode and taken by Merlin to the same lake where he sets her body adrift in a small boat upon the water. The episode in question is called "The Lady of the Lake." You connect the dots.

* ''[[Castle]]'' used to be in love with this trope. The killer was ''always'' the one person they didn't interrogate (especially if it was the grief-stricken relative). It's gotten better in the third season, though.

* ''[[Charmed]]'''s third season had the background character of Abbey who worked in Piper's club who was there for about five episodes. Then in the episode ''Sight Unseen'' she is revealed to be Prue's stalker.

* ''[[Eureka]]'' has a minor example in the episode 'Minor Nobel'. Two elderly scientists shown trying to explain nuclear fission to Zoe later turn out to be members of the title character's team, without which he cannot save the world from an accidentally activated particle cannon.

 

 

* In ''[[Fate/stay night]]'', [[The Epic of Gilgamesh|Gilgamesh]] shows up very briefly mucking about in the Prologue. Kuzuki also shows up briefly in the first day of the Fate route, and wouldn't go on to become important until halfway through the UBW route.

** Similarly, the Avenger class is mentioned in passing as being something of a mistake that happens in the Grail War occasionally as well as the existence of Angra Manyu. These details aren't fully followed up upon until the sequel ''[[Fate/hollow ataraxia]]''.

* ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' has one of these in the form of an [[Easter Egg]]. When Baku is describing the plan to Tantalus on the ship at the start of the game, Zidane has the option of saying "That's when I kidnap Queen Brahne, right?" or "That's when I kidnap Princess Garnet, right?" Saying the "Queen Brahne" option a total of ''64'' times will eventually make Ruby come in and chastise Zidane, long before Ruby is ever properly introduced.

* ''[[Xenosaga]] Episode I'' features an [[Early-Bird Cameo]] of sorts for one of the major villains of ''Episode III'', the android T-elos. Plans for T-elos are visible scattered around a U-Tic Organization battleship that Jr. and his crew storm. The mysterious young boy Abel also gets a split-second [[Early-Bird Cameo]] in the game's ending. Also, several scenes from ''Episode I'''s "8 Minute" trailer showcased key events like Jin and Margulis' epic sword fight and the unveiling of Proto Omega, which don't occur until well into ''Episode II''.

* ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]'' has this with the main characters from ''The Ballad of Gay Tony'', Luis Lopez, and ''The Lost and Damned'', Johnny Klebitz. Niko meets Johnny at a party and both are tasked with a drug trade that goes south for both of them. The main game deals with Niko's escape while ''Lost'' shows how Johnny escaped. Later Niko helps hold up a bank where Luis is taken hostage. Next Niko and Johnny meet up again at a smuggled diamond exchange at a museum, which also goes south when Luis shows up and shoots up the place. Each game deals with how they got out of there. Finally Niko and his friend Patrick exchange a hostage with Luis and his boss Gay Tony for the diamonds. Then in ''Lost'' Johnny has a mission where he sees Luis, Tony, and Tony's boyfriend, new character Evan Moss get the diamonds initially, and steals them.

** ''[[Grand Theft Auto III]]'' had the song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0KMIV8gsUo Neo (The One)], produced by Jeremy Dawson and Chad Petree under the name Slyder. The duo went on to found Shiny Toy Guns, and the lyrics of "Neo" were used as the chorus of the STG song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoA2zapKgX4 You Are The One].

*** Don't forget {{spoiler|Aqua's armor and Keyblade in the Chamber of Repose within Hollow Bastion}} also in ''Final Mix''.

* In ''[[Persona 3]]: [[Expansion Pack|FES]]'' you can see most Social Link characters as well as Akihiko being pestered by fangirls during your character's first walks from the school to the dorm.

* In ''[[Elite Beat Agents]]'', sometimes, characters will pop up in stages prior to their first appearance. For example, Sam and Max ([[Sam and Max Freelance Police|no, not ''that'' Sam and Max]]) appear in the "Rock This Town" stage, and Bill Mitchell, Tex and Amanda appear in "Sk8er Boi".

* ''[[Super Robot Wars Original Generation]] Divine Wars'' features a number of cameos by characters from the second ''OG'' game, even though ''Divine Wars'' touches only the story of the first.

** There was also a Gunman in the ''Alpha'' series, in the first installment, you get to meet Mio Sasuga, one of the Elemental Lord heralds and she tells you to 'wait up for the next game', because she's going to appear. Guess what, she DOES appear in ''Alpha Gaiden'' (along with the rest of the Elemental Lords crews).

** Also, in ''[[Super Robot Wars W]]'', Yumi Francois, David Krugel and Natasha Pablociva from ''[[Tekkaman Blade]] II'' make an early cameo being visibly taken over by the Radam tree near the end of the first half, and later appearing in the second half as playable characters. They certainly didn't appear visibly (taken over off-screen) in the original first ''[[Tekkaman Blade]]''.

** Likewise, Yuan. First appears prior to {{spoiler|Kratos's first [[Face Heel Turn]]}}, repeatedly, and definitely looks important. Remarkably, he manages to pull it off again in the second game, where he looks sufficiently different enough that you can't be sure if that's really him or not when you first meet him in Asgard, very early in the game. Right near the end, it proves to be him.

** A bit of an aversion comes from the fact that many of the important characters have a theme song that plays when they show up, which kinda ruins the surprise if you figured that out early on.

* Valant Gramarye in ''[[Ace Attorney|Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney]]''.

** Ditto {{spoiler|Daryan Crescend}}.

** Investigations 2 plays with this trope with {{spoiler|Ryouken Houinbo}}. The first time he's introduced, Edgeworth is sure he's the killer, but he's not. Then you find out {{spoiler|while he didn't commit the murder, he was pretty much the indirect cause of it.}} But just when you think you've seen the end of him... {{spoiler|he turn out to be vital to the plot of the last case.}}

** Also {{spoiler|Sota Sarushiro}}, introduced in the same case as {{spoiler|a seemingly wrongly accused person}}, turns out to be {{spoiler|the [[Big Bad]] of the game}}.

* Of course, '''THE''' example in video gaming would be the G-Man in ''[[Half-Life]]'' who's seen in almost every level from the very beginning of the game in quick and silent appearances. {{spoiler|Of course he turns out to be the most important character in the game.}}

* Secundo, the [[Ambiguously Gay]] and [[Just a Stupid Accent|Ambiguously Spanish]] AI from ''[[Beyond Good & Evil (video game)|Beyond Good and Evil]].'' He appears briefly in the first half-hour, then slinks back into the shadows, mostly just spewing pre-set lines... {{spoiler|Of course, in the end, he's able to hack into the broadcast satellite on the moon and project the evidence of the Alpha Section's atrocities to all of Hillys.}}

* Melchior in ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' manages to pull it off twice. He's first introduced as a sympathetic merchant living near Medina, but turns out to be the only blacksmith capable of repairing the Masamune. Then it later turns out that {{spoiler|he is one of the displaced gurus from 12,000 B.C.}}

** The game's first boss, Yakra, is a great example of this trope. Although initially introduced as just a commander in Magus' army, and killed very early on, {{spoiler|it is actually his defeat at the hands of the heroes that causes his descendant to seek revenge on Crono, by impersonating the Chancellor of 1000 A.D. and staging a fake trial, which ultimately pushes the heroes to escape to 2300 A.D. and learn about Lavos, setting the game's story into motion. What is amazing is that it is not until very late in the game--and in an optional sidequest--that you actually learn that the reason Crono was arrested and sentenced to death upon arriving home from 600 A.D. was not because the Chancellor was overzealous about Marle's safety, but because you "just" (well, 400 years ago) defeated a seemingly unimportant monster}}

** Think you can pick out a Gunman just because of his custom sprite? Not so fast. Famously, Flea, one of Magus's generals, will first appear as a generic Juggler Enemy (coupled with a "Flea?" name during battle). It is until after the battle, however, that you learn that the true Flea has been there the entire time, as the tiny, generic little bat that's been following you since Magic Cave.

** Several of the people at Millennial Fair can also qualify as Chekhov's Gunmen. Although they do not affect gameplay directly, helping/leaving them alone will help prove Crono innocent later on.

** Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine also qualify. In [[Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles]], Claire mentions that she had never expected to use her brother's training whilst in zombie-occupied Raccoon City, meaning that she learned how to survive from him. In Jill's case, being infected with the T-Virus and surviving thanks to Carlos producing an antidote in Nemesis isn't that big of a deal...until it is discovered after tackling Wesker through a glass window before Resident Evil 5 that her bloodstream held a rare strain of T-virus antibodies which Wesker uses for his Uroboros research.

* When you beat Garland as the first boss of ''[[Final Fantasy I]]'', ''before'' the adventure properly begins, did you really think you'd ever see him again? {{spoiler|And as the ''last'' boss, no less?}}

* In ''[[Knights of the Old Republic (video game)|Knights of the Old Republic]]'', the seemingly generic Dark Jedi to whom [[Guest Star Party Member|Trask Ulgo]] [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrifices himself so you can escape]] is later revealed to be {{spoiler|Darth Bandon, Malak's apprentice}}. You also meet Mission, Zaalbar, Canderous, and Calo Nord in the Taris Lower City before they become important characters.

** Malak's former master Darth Revan is shown in flashback a couple of times, only for others to mention that Revan is dead now. They're wrong. {{spoiler|[[The Reveal|Revan is the player's character.]]}}

** In ''Subterranian Animism'', the cat miniboss in Stage 4 {{spoiler|turns out to be Orin, the main boss (AND miniboss) of Stage 5. And she shows up again as the miniboss of the final stage.}}

** Goes [[Up to Eleven]] with Nue. To her credits she's an Extra Boss in Touhou 12, but by her own admission, she's [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere|not directly connected to the story]]. Who would have thought that she has connection with Mamizou, who is [[The Cavalry|supposed to defeat]] Toyosatomimi-no-Miko in Touhou 13.

** Earlier in the game, the castle's monster occupants show up to {{spoiler|save your underleveled butt after it gets kicked by an Alternate Netherworld monster}}. Before and after that they're pretty much decorations.

** In the third game, Geoffry seems minor, {{spoiler|but he's the [[Big Bad]] of the game.}}

* Ryuji Yamazaki was introduced in ''[[Fatal Fury]] 3'' as a [[Psycho for Hire]] under the Jin twins. In the later series ''[[The King of Fighters]]'', it was revealed that at least some of his madness is caused by his Orochi blood; he's a member of the Orochi clan central to the main plot in ''[[The King of Fighters]]'' series. Subverted somewhat in that he just doesn't care.

** The original did this with Parakarry.

* In the original ''[[Super Mario Bros. (video game)|Super Mario Bros]]'' game, killing the Fake Bowser with fireballs at the end of World 3 will actually turn him into a Buzzy Beetle. Buzzy Beetles actually do not appear until World 4-2, and [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|unlike the one mentioned above]], cannot be killed with fireballs.

** Another example is the first Fake Bowser, who is actually a gray Goomba. In the final level, all Goombas there are colored gray.

* ''[[Ghost Trick]]'' has a habit of making the most innocuous characters turn out to be extremely plot-relevant. This includes {{spoiler|Missile, who comes back as ghost and ally in chapter fourteen}} and {{spoiler|Ray, who makes [[The Dog Was the Mastermind]] literal}}, but the most egregious is {{spoiler|that black cat who shows up in the junkyard for two seconds. Not only is that the [[Big Bad]] possessing the cat's body, but the body is Sissel's actual corpse.}}

** In ''[[Red Alert]]'', every so often, a bald, goateed man appears and tells Stalin various things, though players don't get to hear his lines. Then the ending appears, and you realize said bald, goateed man is quite the [[Magnificent Bastard]].

* Marx, from ''[[Kirby Super Star]]'', is introduced at the beginning when he tells you the objective for Milky Way Wishes, wishes you luck, and you leave. You don't see him again until the very end, when he reveals that [[Evil Plan|he set up the whole thing so he could rule the world]].

* In ''[[The Spirit]] Engine2'', you can see the Big Bad walking through the background in Chapter 3, if you keep your eyes open and know what to look for. Also, later on, he {{spoiler|makes a brief stint as [[Mr. Exposition]]}}.

* In ''[[Metroid]] Fusion'', Samus mentions that her new ship's onboard AI reminds her of her old CO, Adam Malkovich, who had died. It turns out that {{spoiler|he actually is Adam, revealed when he says [[Something Only They Would Say]]}}.

* In ''[[Star Control]] II'', a player's very first encounter will most likely be with a "drone-vessel" of the [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|Ur-Quan]]. When you talk to them, in the corner of the screen is a small, frog-like animal which translates for them. It's there just to add flavor, right? {{spoiler|So very wrong, as they later turn out to actually be the Dnyarri, an ancient race of evil psychics, who [[Compelling Voice|enslaved]] the Ur-Quan ages ago. The Ur-Quan have since rebelled and managed to free themselves, then proceeded to take their revenge by turning the Dnyarri into mindless animals. An "awakened" Dnyarri has a rather major role in the game.}}

** And now we have Makoto Nanaya and Valkenhayn via DLC.

* ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' is full of these, often in the form of characters giving you items in villages, and even in the houses scattered about the battle field. One example in particular that stands out is the Bishop Renault, first encountered giving you a small item in one of the early chapters. Turns out he joins the party in the last two chapters. Furthermore, you can find out via support conversation that {{spoiler|He murdered Lucius' parents, was Wallace's battle instructor, and he was [[Big Bad|Nergal's]] Guinea Pig in developing his [[Artificial Human|morphs]].}}

** Path of Radiance has one too: In one of the early chapters, in which you rout a bunch of pirates from a port, there is a house you can visit with a man that gives you an Elixir. That man is none other than Nasir, who just so happens to be a rather important character in the game, as well as a pretty decent unit to play with.

* In the [[Game Boy Color]] game ''[[Magi Nation]]'', there is one who is practically a Chekhov's boss. In the third Shadow Geyser, you are suddenly stopped by someone named Warranda who summons a creature (and is practically a joke boss) She says a few things to you and then vanishes...making you wonder what the point of that was (unless you didn't return the Key to Ashkar). Then in the fourth Shadow Geyser, she appears to be the guardian of it, but gives you an offer. She'll either give you the [[Plot Coupon]] and let you go without a boss fight (making it the easiest Shadow Geyser after the first one) or you can fight her. If you take it and leave, you'll seemingly avoid a boss battle. ''HOWEVER'', if you do this, in the fifth shadow geyser, she mysteriously appears out of nowhere and tells Tony that he promised to leave, and didn't, so it was time to fight her. (Whether or not she's more powerful at this point isn't really known)

* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' has a bunch of characters like this. Some of the more notable cases include:

** Tirion Fordring, who made his debut in the Eastern Plaguelands all the way back in the original release. Here he was a disgraced former paladin who gave you a couple of quests, culminating in him taking up his sword again. Two expansion packs later, he shows up again as the Supreme Commander of the Argent Crusade and is one of the most important characters in ''Wrath of the Lich King''. His shiny new levels in badass come complete with his own unique legendary blade pulled straight from the [[Expanded Universe]] and a few one-on-one battles with no less a figure than [[Big Bad|the Lich King]] himself.

** Drowzee, the second boss and first outlaw that the main characters arrest. {{spoiler|In the post game, he helps the main characters get into Azurill's nightmare after being let out of prison and being sorry for what he did to Azurill before.}}

** Cyrus in ''[[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl]]'', as well as ''[[Expansion Pack|Platinum]]''. He's introduced relatively early on in Diamond and Pearl, and very early in Platinum, but you don't find out [[Big Bad|who he is]] until later. In ''[[Pokémon Black and White]]'', the same thing was done with {{spoiler|N Harmonia}}.

** In both of the [[Pokémon Colosseum|Gamecube Pokemon games]], you meet a stout and kind old man 15 minutes into the game. {{spoiler|They are the leaders of Cipher, the crime syndicate terrorizing Orre, and they are the final bosses of their respective games.}}

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask]]'' has an example that only pays off in the ending credits. Remember that creepy withered tree near where Link is cursed into Deku Scrub form? Remember how, if you take the "chase the Deku Butler through the maze" sidequest, he'll mention that you remind him of his son? The credits shows him sitting in front of that tree, grieving.

* Janos Audron is mentioned in precisely two lines in ''[[Legacy of Kain]]: Blood Omen'', presumably to never be seen or heard of again. Two games later, he became a ''major'' character and the main driving force behind the [[Big Bad]]'s actions.

* ''[[The Orion Conspiracy]]'' introduces you to a tough female pilot named Brooks. She seems to have only a small role in the game. Later, she gets killed off trying to stop a berserk Ward and LaPaz drags her body out of the corridor. Later, when you get to the shuttle, you find out that the NavCom chip was destroyed, effectively crippling the shuttle. However, LaPaz reveals that there is a backup chip...located in Brooks's brain! [[Squick]], but it does explain why LaPaz dragged Brooks's body out of a corridor that had to be sealed shortly afterwards.

* [[Tekken|Heihachi Mishima.]] The guy locks up his dad, tosses his son into a ravine, adopts another kid which becomes his first son's rival, and guns down his grandson. Yeah, it's safe to say that Heihachi's actions drives the series.

* In ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'', while optionally talking to your boss at the courier agency, you can find out you weren't the first pick for the Platinum Chip job that got you shot. The first guy for the job, a fellow named Ulysses, saw your name on the list, forfeited it and said you should have it. In the DLC, he turns out to be...rather important.

* [[Mortal Kombat|Sindel]] falls under this trope as well. Revived by Quan Chi's necromancy, later powered up by Shang Tsung's soul by Shao Kahn, which leads her to slaughter her daughter and most of the Forces of Light, with Nightwolf [[Heroic Sacrifice|killing both him and Sindel]] in the process.

 

== Web Comics ==

* Mike from ''[[Bob and George]]'' made a brief appearance [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/index.php?date=010717 at the very end of Mynd's introductionary storyline]. In a [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/index.php?date=010728 later animated strip], he and Chadling make an appearance as potential characters Proto Man could be teaming up (who turned out to be Roll). Both characters are [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/index.php?date=010904 properly introduced] in the second storyline featuring Mynd.

* Jones from ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]''. [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=161 Her first mention in the comic] was so subtle that no one noticed it at the time. Then she was introduced standing next to the Headmaster at the parlay, watching the proceedings silently. As it turns out, she's responsible for training the future Medium, and she's a valuable source of information.

* In ''[[Tales of the Questor]]'', there is a small story where Linneaus, a Raccoonan pastor learns that the Alligator people in the swamp were looking for information about God and he volunteers to go to them as a missionary. While that story seems like a postscript story to the strip's first major continuity, there is a later story where a wizard tells of a boy with a powerful talent for magic who goes half-crazed in horror of his power and the people who tried to exploit him and he was last seen running into the swamp, never to be seen again. These stories may be unrelated, but given the religious allegory nature of the strip, it would seem that the boy is inadvertently heading for the one Raccoonan who can help him.

** And now we have {{spoiler|Elan and Nale's father Tarquin, who only appeared in a ''single panel'' of a ''cutaway gag'' in one of the early strips.}}

** For his early appearances in the story, Blackwing is the subject of jokes about how DND players neglect their familiars when playing as arcane casters. {{spoiler|Then he plays a crucial role in O-Chul and Vaarsuvius' plan to destroy Xykon's phylactery, and gets a promotion to major character.}}

* In [[Ménage à 3]], [[Buxom Is Better|one of the many passer-bys who are impressed by DiDi's assets]] shows obvious [[A-Cup Angst]] in the first panel [http://www.menagea3.net/d/20090926.html here]. She returns as a psych student who thinks she can treat [[Does Not Like Men|Yuki's problems]]. The author uses a [[Brick Joke]] to establish that she's the same person. When first we [http://www.menagea3.net/d/20100527.html see her again], she's reading a pamphlet about breast enlargement.

* ''[[Drowtales]]'' has been running since 2001 so naturally has plenty of these, but perhaps the best example is {{spoiler|1=Sha'sana, who narrates the prologue and is seen for one page, and [http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?order=chapters&id=40 was implied to have been killed] by Snadhya'rune, until 25 chapters later when she's [http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?order=chapters&id=1274 revealed to have survived]}}.

*** {{spoiler|[[Averted Trope|Not.]] }}

** John is described early on as having a deep-seated hatred for Betty Crocker. It's mostly played for laughs, until the Doc Scratch intermission of Act 5 Act 2, where it's revealed that {{spoiler|Betty Crocker wasn't human, and is mostly likely the Troll Empress, working for Lord English.}}

** In Act 6, we meet [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=006015 Jane Crocker], {{spoiler|Nanna's teenage alternate}}. Her appearance was first previewed [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=003822 back in Act 4], two thousand pages and about a year and a half prior.

* In one strip of ''[[Shortpacked]]!'' a nameless woman working at a supermarket shows up. A while later she begins dating one of the main characters and became one herself. When the author went back and titled some of his earlier strips he called the one she appeared in "She'll Show Up More Later".

** Renn'tekk, who first appears as a random, nameless tekk wrecking havoc in a tikedi village, but becomes an important character after the first perspective-flipped chapter.

** Shan'rekk too doesn't get a proper introduction when he first appears, although in his case it's plainly visible that he's important, or at least [[My Species Doth Protest Too Much|a very unique tekk]].

* In ''[[Spacetrawler]]'', the apex speaker (and apparent [[Big Bad]]) Kuu-Drahc is accompanied by an unnamed personal assistant when he heads a meeting of the GOB. Later, the protagonists learn that Kuu-Drahc is ''not'' the big bad, but takes orders from a [[Man Behind the Man]] named Qwahntoo. Then they find out that Kuu-Drahc's "personal assistant" from earlier was actually Qwahntoo.

* ''[[The Other Grey Meat]]'' has a character named Chekov, who happens to be one of the few survivors of a failed raid on the [[Big Bad]].

* Two of them in ''[[Broken Saints]]''. The first is {{spoiler|the hobo Raimi meets near the alleyway, who seems to be nothing but another one of his hallucinations}}. The second is {{spoiler|the supposedly dead Lear Dunham, one of the co-founders of BIOCOM.}} In the end, {{spoiler|they turn out to be the same person. The freakin ''[[Big Bad]]''.}}

* Many, many people in ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' works. Given that the stories center around the 600 or so students at the [[Super-Hero School|Whateley Academy]] and their connections (plus the fact that the number of novels, novel chapters, short stories, novelettes, and vignettes now numbers over a hundred) it is sort of inevitable that characters seen in passing can become major players in later stories. Examples: Beltane (Kendall Forbes) gives the protagonists the campus tour on day one... and much later gets her own leading role in "For Whom the Belle Tolls", as well as other appearances. The Headmistress gives a speech on the first day of classes... and then turns out to also be the greatest superheroine around (in her spare time).

** At first, Cavalier and Skybolt only get mentioned to show how dangerous The Don really is, and why The Don runs the campus. They're central to the Fey and Generator story "Christmas Elves". And then what they do next drives a lot of the plots for Winter Term.

** One of the throwaway jokes early in the universe is about some girl at school who has the spirit ''of the squirrel'' and is a campus joke. She has now become a protagonist with her own stories, and in her combat final, she managed to beat one of the most dangerous bullies at Whateley in a simultaneous [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] and [[Crowning Moment of Funny]].

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeqZ6yMCZUM&feature=rec-HM-fresh+ div This] five minute skit uses it twice! (Pay attention to the chaos that effects 2 characters...)

* Two in ''[[There Will Be Brawl]]''. {{spoiler|Game and Watch}} had been seen around the city doing various tasks. {{spoiler|He actually is an [[Eldritch Abomination]], and is the "End of Days" meant to bring about the end of the world.}}

** {{spoiler|Ness and Lucas}} were seen playing in an alley, and served to remind Luigi of his motivation for fighting. {{spoiler|Then it gets turned on his head when he discovers ''[[Creepy Child|they]]'' are the murderers.}}

** When Nibbler is introduced as a character, he just appears to be a pet for Leela and we're led to believe his eventual significance is to make fuel for the ship, as his bodily waste comes out as dark matter. But that's still not it. Not even close. {{spoiler|he is an alien from a highly advanced ancient race that has been at war with the floating brains. And he was responsible for making Fry get frozen.}}

* ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]'': Leaky Leona appears briefly in the crowd of kids attending the DC's party in "Operation: Date" a whole season before getting her very own story ("Operation: Fountain"). The future 4th grade president appears briefly in "Operation: Archive" trying to eat a candy bar and forgetting he's wearing a fishbowl helmet (he's on the moon).

** It always seems to be the very first person whose full name is given, especially if it seems irrelevant at the time.

** Lampshaded to Hell and back in an episode in a relatively new series, where Velma pins it on the myth-obsessed old tour guide for [[Genre Savvy|precisely this reason]]... and then it turns out to be someone they hadn't met at ''all''. She then complains about the unfairness of this.

** Even before that, she was [[Early-Bird Cameo|the firebender in the opening]].

** Azula is just one of many examples; the show ''loves'' this trope. {{spoiler|The Giant Lion-Turtle who finally unlocks the [[Eleventh-Hour Superpower]] for Aang}} was mentioned as early as the pilot, appeared several times as a statue, and showed up on a suspiciously conspicuous scroll in the ancient library.

* In ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]'', {{spoiler|Elyon}}, who would eventually become the ''focus'' of a major part of the series is first introduced as a classmate of the main group, and is even introduces herself with another character that would remain a background character.

** During the second season finale we're introduced to a man that is a major part of the next story in the comics, but as the series didn't get another season, it's technically a [[Continuity Cameo]].

** When Twilight first arrives in Ponyville, a pink mare gasps and bolts. Turns out she's bolted to organize a welcome-wagon party.

** Time will tell if the Prince and Princess from ''Hearts and Hooves Day'' are this; there has been considerable [[Wild Mass Guessing]] on the subject.

 

 

== Real Life ==

** It may have happened anyway, Franz Ferdinand was just an excuse. Austria was going to invade the Balkans anyway.

* Way, way back in [[The Roaring Twenties]], there was an unimportant art student which had been rejected from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He served in the German Army during WWI, and reached the unimportant rank of Lance Corporal. He joined a small, two-bit political party that was deemed dangerous by the police (he was originally a police spy, before the party won him over), but otherwise not even a blip on the political radar. This man's name? [[Adolf Hitler]].

* Following the Russian Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet Union, there was a low level enforcer in the Bolshevik Party with the almost unpronounceable name of Iosef Besarionis dze Jughashvili. He managed to quickly rise through the ranks and changed his name to the much easier to pronounce, [[Joseph Stalin]].

* There was also the carpenter from Galilee that became sort of important later on, as well as the Arabian merchant and the shepherd with the speech impediment.

* Some obscure French officer, a prince from the backwater of Macedonia, and this Asian guy who had a horde or something. What's a khagan?

* After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865, his funeral procession would travel from Washington, D.C. to his (almost) final resting place in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois (since his coffin has been exhumed numerous times afterward). One of the procession's stop would be on 14th Street and Broadway in New York City, on April 24, 1865. [http://stolf.wordpress.com/2010/11/18/stolfs-blog-11182010/ A picture was taken of this procession], and an open window is shown in the left-hand side of the photo. You can barely see, but two little boys are leaning out the window watching the procession go by. Those two little boys? They're future President Theodore Roosevelt and his brother Elliott Roosevelt, father of Eleanor Roosevelt.

* [[Disney Channel]] stars often make one-off or minor appearances in their shows and films before getting heavily featured in their own. [[Selena Gomez]] had a guest spots on ''[[The Suite Life of Zack and Cody]]'' and [[Hannah Montana]] while David Henrie made a few appearances on ''[[That's So Raven]]'' before both of them were placed as the leads in ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]''. Similarly Orlando Brown who played Eddie in ''[[That's So Raven]]'' previously appeared in ''[[Lizzie McGuire]]''. Vanessa Hudgens and Monique Coleman also had recurring roles in ''The Suite Life'' before they starred in ''[[High School Musical]]''.

** Sterling Knight appeared in [[Hannah Montana]] before starring in [[Sonny With a Chance]].

* USA has done this too. Jeffery Donavan (Michael Weston) from [[Burn Notice]] and Frederick Weller (Marshall Mann) from [[In Plain Sight]] both had an appearance on [[Monk]] before starring in their own series'.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characters As Device]]

[[Category:Chekhov's Gun]]

[[Category:Not-So-Small Role]]