Chekhov's Gunman: Difference between revisions

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]].

When the [[Chekhov's Gunman]] is hidden by shadows, you've got yourself a case of [[Sinister Silhouettes]]. If a character in an [[Derivative Works|adaptation]] is transformed into a Gunman by appearing earlier than in the source work, that's an [[Early-Bird Cameo]]. If a character originally conceived as minor becomes important through later [[Character Development]], that's a [[Destined Bystander]].

{{examples}}

** 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.)

** In a more minor example, with more immediate payoff, Roy Mustang is initially introduced in Chapter 4 of the manga as seemingly nothing more than an extra to set the scene for the current story, before being revealed as a major character at the end.

** In the chapter with Winry arriving at a train station, Izumi and her husband can be seen in the bottom right of a panel perusing the timetable. When they both arrive later, the author even puts a little footnote that encourages the reader to check back in the earlier volume.

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

** 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.}}

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

* In ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]'', a distinctive, heavily-burdened [[Meido]] is occasionally shown trudging through exotic locales without any explanation; she eventually appears in the main setting and is introduced as an important character. In the movie, which is a remake of the first arc, she walks past the camera (and turns to look at it) in two news reports in the span of a day -- once in the Gobi Desert and once on Mount ''Everest''.

** 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).

** Look closely at the matchup screen showing the competitors at the start of the Sinnoh League -- Tobias is on there.

* 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.}}

** 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

** Much later, Setsuna/Sailor Pluto is introduced in a very similar manner to Minako. True, in her case Sailor Pluto had been introduced in the previous season, but her appearance on Earth was a surprise -- unless you spotted her in the background.

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

** The first time Evangeline is mentioned, it's in a note written by her picture in the class roster. Two volumes later, she appears again as the manga's first real antagonist. A few volumes after that {{spoiler|she [[Big Damn Heroes|saves Negi's butt]] during the Kyoto arc. After ''that'', Negi eventually begins training under her. She is one of the most powerful mages in existence, after all}}

** 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.}}

** {{spoiler|Zazie}} in one of the earliest artworks is dead center with claws for hands. Cue the least development of any character and all of ten lines in the series until almost 300 chapters later she {{spoiler|appears in the middle of the Magical World}}. Bricks were shat; [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] rained from the skies. And {{spoiler|it was actually her identical sister who's also a demon queen. Not long after, in Mahora, Zazie starts talking.}}

** 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}}.

** After Thriller Park, the Risky Brothers tells the crew how mermaids' beauty on Fishmen Island even made the Pirate Empress Hancock jealous. We would meet mermaids on Fishmen Island and the Pirate Empress later on.

** Buggy the Clown tends to drop in once in a while just as the audience has forgotten about him.

* 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.}}

* 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}}

* ''[[Godannar]]'' has ''three'' examples that span the entire series:

** 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.}}

** Thirdly, the [[Wrench Wench|mecha technician]] Hayashi, who has a [[Distressed Damsel]] moment in episode 2, and thereafter serves no purpose other than a [[Sickeningly Sweethearts|comically perfect]] relationship with fellow tech Morimoto. Turns out in the [[Distant Finale]] that {{spoiler|she is the ''key to the human race's survival'', precisely ''because'' she had that [[Distressed Damsel]] moment at the start.}}

** 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.

** {{spoiler|Aizen}} himself counts. He's introduced early in the Soul Society Arc as one of the [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] who are brought in, and promptly gets murdered. {{spoiler|He turns out to be the [[Big Bad]].}}

** Iceringer and D-Roy, believe it or not. Their first appearance is after Grand Fisher is beaten by Ichigo, with the former healing him and the latter yelling at him for failing. This also gives proof to Aizen's claim that he's been pulling Ichigo's strings since before he ever entered Soul Society.

** Chapter 56 sees Byakuya tell Rukia he understands her desire to protect Ichigo because of Ichigo's resemblence to "him". Although this is an obvious portent of Kaien's backstory entering the manga 77 chapters later, this chapter also sets up the introduction of Hisana 123 chapters later as proof that Byakuya told the truth: he really does understand the desire to protect someone who resembles a loved one. Not only that, but the chapter's cover page is, on first reading, viewed as a snapshot of a dead or unconscious Rukia with an oddly shaggier version of her normal hairstyle. Hisana's introduction into the story reveals she resembles Rukia with a shaggier version of Rukia's normal hairstyle. Cue a reinterpretation of the picture in Chapter 56 as being Hisana not Rukia.

** 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]]}}.

* The first shot in the first episode of ''[[Darker Than Black]]'' shows a girl in a white dress standing at the edge of a lake and looking at the stars. This isn't given any explanation, and as the scene immediately cuts to a [[Batman Cold Open]], viewers are likely to ignore it... until episode 11, when {{spoiler|Hei starts panicking when he sees an illusion of her in the Gate.}} Turns out she's {{spoiler|his [[Dead Little Sister]]: a [[Person of Mass Destruction]], the reason for the Heaven's Gate explosion, and the reason for both her brother's powers and [[The Stoic|his personality]].}}

** 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.

** In the pilot, Miura is first shown being questioned by the police. Much later, when main character Taro Kagami gives up the notebook, {{spoiler|more people get killed, including the detectives, and Miura is the second Death Note user}}.

** [[Chi Chi]]'s an even better example. She first appeared as a minor character who had a crush on Goku, and in the manga after her first appearance she was never seen nor mentioned again until the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai ''twelve volumes later'' where she's reunited with Goku and they wind up getting engaged. The anime screwed this up however by having her appear every now and then in a couple filler episodes.

* Dana Sterling, the teen protagonist of ''[[Robotech]]'''s "The Masters" cycle, is one of these, as she first appears as a baby during the "Macross Saga" cycle.

* Schrödinger in ''[[Hellsing]]'' appears relatively early on in the manga and OVA series, and has the interesting but passingly mentioned ability to be "everywhere and nowhere". {{spoiler|His ability comes into full effect in the final volume of the manga, where he commits suicide and allows his body to fall into the river of blood Alucard is absorbing. The Major explains that Schrödinger's ability depends on his ability to perceive himself as an individual; if he becomes one of the many millions of souls within Alucard, however, he is unable to distinguish himself and is thus unable to truly exist. This quandary, in turn, causes Alucard to cease existing in the real world, which was the Major's [[Evil Plan]] all along.}}

** Kagura gets a little weird here. She appeared in the manga a few times before joining the main cast too, but the anime expanded on how often she made appearances a good deal.

** That's because the anime mixed up the order of a few events, like the pool episode, so that they came earlier.

* ''[[Code Geass]]'' had Schneizel make an appearance at Clovis's funeral at least a dozen episodes before he actually enters the story.

** Also had Mao appear early in both episode 12 and 13, even though he's not officially introduced until episode 14. In hindsight, though the first cameo becomes pretty damn significant as it explains how the hell Mao {{spoiler|knew Lelouch was Zero, knew C.C. was with him, knew Shirley liked him, and knew her father was killed by Zero, all of which become important parts of his [[Batman Gambit]].}}

* In ''[[DOGS Bullets and Carnage]]'', during the first story that introduces Mihai, there's a panel showing a red haired guy with an eye patch trying to get past him and get out the door. Guess who's introduced as the subject of the next story?

* The most recent arcs of ''[[The World God Only Knows]]'' consist of the protagonist looking for the remaining Chekhov's Gunmen, i.e. {{spoiler|the girls that remember their capture.}}

* In ''[[Hajime no Ippo]]'' we're introduced to Yamada Naomichi, a weighty, timid young man who admires Ippo. Yamada trained in Ippo's gym for several months, and became a pro boxer before moving away, and we sort of forget about him after that. {{spoiler|Two years later, he returns as 'Hammer Nao', Ippo's opponent for his second title defense, with a shaved head, scary demeanor, and lost enough weight to end up in Ippo's weight class, and everyone lampshades this drastic change.}}

* Zigzagged in ''[[Berserk]]''. Since the manga starts off as an [[In Medias Res]], {{spoiler|Puck is introduced as a primary character in the Black Swordsman arc. After the Black Swordsman arc is over and the story switches to the Golden Age Arc - which is a flashback - Puck has not been introduced. However, after Guts and Casca are rescued from an ambush by the Blue Whale Knights of Tudor, Judeau gives Casca a bag of elf dust, saying that an elf he use to know while traveling with a band of performers gave it to him as a gift. The elf in question is indeed Puck, but he is not referred to again until the events of the Eclipse, in which Rickert, who was left behind during the Griffith rescue operation, was traveling with the same band of performers that Judeau accompanied in the past, with Puck still in their presence. After the two year time skip at the beginning of the Conviction Arc (which the Black Swordsman Arc overlapped chronologically) Puck is presented as a larger character.}}

* In ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'', Kotetsu T. Kaburagi has a young daughter who doesn't see much screentime, as he unfortunately has to live away from her. Then the second half of the show rolls along and {{spoiler|a certain little girl [[Superpowerful Genetics|starts developing superpowers just like her father...]]}}

* ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'': Kongo Agon, one of the most memorable antagonists in the series makes his debut appearance watching the Devil-Bat's second ever match. Later on, while trying to find and recruit Musashi as a kicker, the Devil-Bat's run into Kotaro, who becomes their last opponent in the Tokyo Tournament. Than during the opening of the Kantou Regionals, [[The Hero|Sena]] is approached by Reiji Marco who plays quarterback for the Hakushuu Dinosaurs, and wants to know if Sena would like to trade opponents (upon finding out Sena will be facing Agon he backs off); he seems like something of an afterthought compared to some of the other players there, but he and his team end up being the [[Climax Boss|Climax Bosses]] of the arc.

* There is a general rule about ''The Prince of Tennis'': If you can remember their name, they will probably be back.

== Comics ==

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

* Bunnie Rabbot of ''[[Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' first appeared in a pin-up in the original four issue mini-series before appearing in the comic proper some issues later. She also looked markedly different.

** Dr. Finitevus first appears during the "Return to Angel Island" arc as just another member of the Dark Legion. About 40 or so issues later, he joins the [[Big Bad Ensemble]] by manipulating damn near ''everyone'' in order to ensure Knuckles becomes the new Enerjak.

* [[The Joker]] during ''[[Infinite Crisis]]''. First seen torturing King and asking him why he wasn't invited to join the Society. Is told that he's considered too unpredictable, and kills King out of anger. Not seen for the next hundreds of pages or so. {{spoiler|Guess who kills Alexander Luthor Jr.?}}

* A zombie [[Deadpool]] appeared in ''[[Marvel Zombies]]'', but only as an extra without dialogue. Later on, he plays a main role in the series. Similarly Black Bolt appeared numerous times in the series, but doesn't get an actual role until much later.

* 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}}

* ''[[Empowered (Comic Book)|Empowered]]'' has {{spoiler|Ocelotina}} a female hostage Emp tries (and fails) to save from ThugBoy in Volume 1 appears again in Volume 2 trying to kidnap Empowered for [[Les Yay]]-related reasons. She then becomes a recurring character as a deliberate model for the fetish crowd that Emp keeps unintentionally feeding. Deathmonger and Fleshmaster may also count.

== Fanfiction ==

== Films -- Animation ==

* 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.

* In "Lady and the Tramp", {{spoiler|the Rat}} appears seemingly at random in the beginning. By the climax, it's the last thing on anybody's mind, until it reappears to do harm to the baby!

* When you're watching ''[[Toy Story 3]]'' remember the cute little girl playing with a monkey who has cymbals, because she'll be coming back, as will the monkey with cymbals.

* 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.

* {{spoiler|[[Big Lipped Alligator Moment|The Big Lipped Alligator]]}} from ''[[All Dogs Go to Heaven]]''.

* 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."

* ''[[The Three Stooges]]'' has a little orphan named Teddy who gets adopted by a rich couple at the beginning. Turns out that Teddy later shows up when the Stooges are adults- and is at the center of the film's plot, without his knowledge!

* ''[[Cube]]'' includes a seemingly detrimental character, Kazaan, who {{spoiler|turns out to be an idiot savant, and critical to solving the formula needed to escape.}}

* ''[[Billy Madison]]'' provides quite a literal example with [[Steve Buscemi]]. When [[Adam Sandler]] calls him to apologize for being a jerk to him when he was a kid, Buscemi seems as if he'd only be in that one scene as a random oddball for comedy's sake. But just as Sandler is about to be killed Buscemi comes out of nowhere to shoot the would be assassin, saving Sandler's life.

* In ''[[The Dark Knight Saga]]'', the camera pays a certain amount of attention to Jim Gordon's fellow police officer Ramirez. Near the end, cue [[The Reveal]] that {{spoiler|Ramirez is the corrupt cop who drove Rachel to the place where she would die. The viewers who were completely sure she was a [[Captain Ersatz]] of Rene Montoya were either outraged or relieved.}}

** A bit of a [[Double Subversion]] in fact. At one point in the film, Joker says he'll blow up a hospital if citizens let a certain man live. Batman asks Gordon to look for cops with relatives in hospitals, thinking they may attack the man. Observant viewers will remember that Ramirez's mother is in the hospital. {{spoiler|She does not attack the man, subverting Chekhov's Gunman for the moment.}}

** Played by the same actor who is finally revealed to be the hitman in ''[[The Bodyguard]]''!

* Lampshaded in ''The Amateurs''. Two characters are having a discussion about who they want in their porn movie (don't ask), and discuss that one character's brother is out of town, and worry about how tough the brother is and what he would do if he found out. Eventually, the narrator steps in and says, "OK, we know you're not idiots, you've probably guessed by now that the brother is going to be important later."

* In ''[[Training Day]]'', Hoyt breaks up an attempted rape early on and picks up the victim's dropped wallet. {{spoiler|Later, when Hoyt is trapped by the Latino gang, they find the wallet on him and it saves his life - the girl he saved was the cousin of the gang leader.}}

* In ''[[Stranger Than Fiction]]'', while the movie is introducing the main character, Harold Crick, it also introduces two seemingly unimportant characters for flavor: a boy that has just been given a new bike, and a woman searching for a new job. Throughout the film they appear randomly as they go about their day-to-day lives with very little fanfare, until the end, when {{spoiler|Harold is nearly killed saving the boy from being hit by a bus (driven by the woman on her first day on the job) after he falls off his bike in front of the bus stop. It turns out that the [[Rewriting Reality|writer of the story]] Harold was the main character of had been foreshadowing their appearance the entire time}}.

* In ''[[Saving Private Ryan]]'', the squad releases a lone captured Nazi machine-gunner. {{spoiler|In the final battle, he is personally responsible for at least two American deaths before he is gunned down by the same American translator who advocated his release}}.

* In ''[[American History X]]'' {{spoiler|a seemingly unimportant character kills the protagonist, with a gun.}}

** 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}}.

* ''[[Carlitos Way]]''. [[Added Alliterative Appeal|Benny Blanco]] ([[Running Gag|from the Bronx]]), the guy Carlito roughs up {{spoiler|kills him as he was about to escape}}.

* 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...

* ''[[Sucker Punch]]'' examples contain Wiseman {{spoiler|who turns out to be a kind bus driver that gives Sweet Pea an alibi to evade the police}}, the young British soldier that catches Sweet Pea's attention in the trench warfare sequence {{spoiler|who is a passenger on the bus that she rides on at the end of the film}} and The High Roller {{spoiler|who is actually the doctor who performs the lobotomy on Baby Doll}}.

* Robert, Eric, and Jordy in ''[[Mystery Team]]''.

* 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 ''[[When You Reach Me]]'', the laughing man seems to have no purpose in the book, but in the end, we learn that {{spoiler|he's one of the main character's friends who has traveled back in time to save one of her other friend's lives}}

** Played straight with {{spoiler|Turnball Root, appeared in a short story and reappeared in the ''Atlantis Complex''.}}

*** That sprite who told {{spoiler|Turnball}} how to re-acquire some magic? That's the first supernatural being who ever appeared on-screen: the fairy who loaned Artemis a copy of her Book way at the beginning of the series. Given that she hadn't appeared since the first chapter of the first book, and this was the ''seventh'', this probably is also a [[Brick Joke]].

* 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.

{{quote| "... first mention of Ravenor (who could have guessed where ''that'' would lead to)...."}}

** 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.

** After five books, Ginny is promoted from "[[Sidekick]]'s little sister" to "[[First Girl Wins|Love Interest]]".

*** Though Fans Attentiveness payed off when {{spoiler|Harry gets the fake locket with a note By R.A.B. Fans were attentive to guess that R.A.B. was Regulas Black based on the fact that Regulus was mentioned to have run off to be a death eater then was seemingly killed By Voldemort for Getting Cold Feet. which would have made him a good fit to be R.A.B also having the same initials though fans weren't told Regulus's middle name.}}

**** Rowling's response on the theory was "that's a really good guess"

* 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''.

* Butcher also does this a bit with ''[[Codex Alera]]'' -- only the gunman turns out to be a "gunspecies". Tavi and Kitai go into the Wax Forest for a test and end up not only encountering the wax-spiders, but also an unusual new creature {{spoiler|The Vord queen.}} They're mentioned in passing during the first book -- but show up in each new one, getting more dangerous each time.

* 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}}.

** Also, in Feet of Clay, {{spoiler|we are introduced to the "The Dragon" when Vimes goes to get his coat of arms. It turns out that he manipulated the whole difficulty with the golems..}}

* Ezra Jennings from Wilkie Collins' ''[[The Moonstone]]'' is the ''assistant'' to Dr. Candy, himself a side character. {{spoiler|Both of them, but especially Jennings, are more important to the plot than the reader might first think.}}

* Emile Zola ''loved'' to use this trope in his ''Les Rougon-Macquart'' series. A character mentioned in passing in book one and described by his father as a forgettable good-for-nothing shows up as the main character in books 10 and 11. Another one mentioned in passing in book 3 is the main character of book 14. The pattern repeats itself throughout the books. Things get even more confusing when you find out that the books do ''not'' follow in chronological order and that the timelines of most of them intersect in one way or the other. Trying to keep up with who is doing what and is important in which book can become a nightmare.

* In''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' every named character in the book will return with greater importance latter on. Every. Last. One. It's even justified by the fact that the three main characters {{spoiler|bend chance, circumstance, and the fabric of the universe itself simply by existing.}}

* ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'': Who is John Galt? The unnamed minor character standing in plain sight for six hundred pages, rather than a rhetorical question.

* A head of one of the smuggling organizations with a subplot in ''[[The Thrawn Trilogy]]'' has bodyguard, and in one line he calls her Shada. She's good at her job. Zahn later wrote a short story called "Hammertong", in which she was an all-around agent who was one of the many people who helped get the Death Star plans to Leia. In the ''[[Hand of Thrawn]]'' duology written five years after ''The Thrawn Trilogy'', Shada Du'kal accompanies Talon Karrde on his search for a certain document, and has her own Mystral subplot.

* 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):

** ''Six Sacred Stones'' introduces Jack West's brother in law and previous neighbour in a flashback.

* In the ''[[Young Wizards]]'' books, there are a decent number. Two of note are Ponch, who in an incidence of [[Chekhov's Gun]] does indeed get stranger the more time he spends with Kit, as wizards pets do. He crosses into and even creates alternate realities and is implied {{spoiler|to maybe be God. Who apparently likes palindromes.}} The other is Biddy in ''A Wizard Abroad'' who is the local smith and farrier and {{spoiler|turns out to be one of the Powers That Be and helps reforge a powerful artifact that has been lost.}}

* A particularly impressive one from [[David Eddings]]. In ''The Ruby Knight'', the second book of his [[Elenium]] trilogy, Zalasta is introduced in what is practically a throwaway scene; literally, he's seen for less than a page. He's not seen or mentioned again in the entire trilogy... and then he shows up in the Tamuli trilogy as one of the major characters, {{spoiler|and ultimately turns out to be the closest thing to a [[Big Bad]] for ''both'' trilogies}}.

* In [[The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness]], The Walker, a crazy old man, is introduced in the 1st book, but it isn't till the sixth that we learn {{spoiler|he is the 7th Soul Eater.}} He did give us some hints, though, like when he said that before he went insane, he was "a very wise man".

* Sarah Caudwell's [[Hilary Tamar]] mysteries have a tendency to mention elderly relatives of the protagonists in passing who will become crucial to later books in the series. The first book, ''Thus Was Adonis Murdered'', mentions that Cantrip has an uncle who's a Second World War veteran; he ends up providing some crucial exposition and a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment in the third book ''The Sirens Sang Of Murder''. ''The Sirens Sang Of Murder'' in turn mentions Julia's Aunt Regina, who narrates a sizable fraction of the fourth book, ''The Sibyl In Her Grave''.

* [[Robert Rankin]]'s ''The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse'' has a literal example when {{spoiler|Jill}} shows up to shoot the [[Big Bad]] and rescue Jack at the very end.

* In Craig Shaw Gardner's "Cineverse Cycle," several minor characters from the first and second books were later revealed to be disguises used by a superhero called Captain Crusader, whose decoder rings could transport the wearer into and through the different worlds of the Cineverse whenever they said the code phrase.

* In [[Shatter Me]] [[Plucky Comic Relief]] Kenji is heard but not seen talking to Adam a few chapters before he makes an appearance in chapter 35.

* 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.}}

* In the first season of [[Dexter]], {{spoiler|Rudy}} is introduced in a justified manner but then given strange amounts of attention, developing his character until it is revealed that he is {{spoiler|the [[Big Bad]] known as the Ice Truck Killer}} and, ultimately, also {{spoiler|Dexter's brother, Brian}}.

* Lots of characters in ''[[The Wire]]'', most notably Clay Davis.

** 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.

** 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 is the easy way to spot the murderer in ''[[CSI]]''. In the first 10 minutes or so there will be a completely unimportant background character, often who has one unimportant line. They add nothing to the plot, and would not be missed. Example: in one episode the owner of a diner is being questioned in her own establishment. Halfway through the chat she turned to tell the "short order chef" to get on with his work. I turned to my wife and said "It's the cook." It was.

** 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.

** Not to mention the second episode of the first season. {{spoiler|the very innocent looking chemistry girl who explains the chemicals that could be used in arson is the one who actually stole the chemicals to commit the crimes.}}

** 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.

** Similarly back in Season 2, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha were introduced long before they ended up becoming the new Red, Black, and Yellow Rangers.

* In ''[[Kamen Rider Kabuto]]'', for a good half-dozen episodes, a "tricked-out" rider, bearing a strong resemblance to Kabuto appears and even assists in fights (by out-doing the other riders' own Clock Up). We find out a bit later that this mystery rider is, in fact, Kabuto after his [[Mid-Season Upgrade]].

* Very common in ''[[Monk]]''. The office episode has to be a particularly [[Egregious]] example: {{spoiler|the guy didn't even ''talk'' before Monk suddenly singled him out as the killer}}. The baseball episode is a pretty extreme example as well, considering that the killer turns out to be {{spoiler|someone Monk had seen appearing in an advertisement for a few seconds, not speaking, earlier in the case}}.

** Another episode pulled this with the "gunman" being beneficial to the heroes. Monk and the detectives are investigating a bank robbery when Randy questions a living statue who was working outside the bank. Randy then is inspired to become a living statue himself and practices the trade throughout the episode, thus implying that the statue's role in the story is over. Later, the heroes are {{spoiler|locked in the vault by the perpetrators. They later open a box which turns out to contain the controls for the electronic message board on the front of the bank. They use it to request help. Guess who relays the message to the police.}}

** 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.}}

{{quote| "Did I really make such a fleeting impression? But then, I suppose...that was rather the point."}}

* ''[[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.

* ''[[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.

* ''[[Rehearsal For Murder]]'' {{spoiler|the killer is the man in the back of the auditorium.}} Also true in the TV movie it's based on.

* Inverted in the play ''[[Rumors]]'' when the two biggest players in the show never actually appear on-stage, with one of them only showing up with one line from off-stage at the end.

* Played with a bit in Tom Stoppard's mystery parody ''[[The Real Inspector Hound]]'', where both the murderer ''and'' the victim are Chekhov's Gunmen.

* In ''[[Hamlet]]'', Laertes is introduced briefly as a character in the first act, before departing for most of the play's storyline. He returns in the fourth act and plays a major role at the end of the play.

== Video Games ==

* ''[[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.

** Similarly, {{spoiler|Xemnas and "Terra"<ref>We'll leave you to play ''Birth By Sleep'' by yourself to figure why "Terra" is in quotes.</ref>}} appearing as [[Bonus Boss|Bonus Bosses]] in the ''Final Mix'' [[Updated Rerelease|Updated Rereleases]].

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

** You can also meet all your school Social Links on the first day of school, and even talk to them.

** Yukari and her Evoker appear briefly in a couple of shots in the first anime cutscene of the game.

** There's also a non-character example: the music the protagonist is listening to on his headphones during that scene is "Burn My Dread -Last Battle-". This track later plays as a proper BGM (rather than being all muffled and distorted) during {{spoiler|the final battle with Nyx}}.

*** Of course, [[Nominal Importance|the fact that they gave him a]] [[Character Portrait]] clued many people into his role as a future protagonist before the new game was even announced.

** {{spoiler|The gas station attendant who shakes your hand at the beginning of the game}} turns out to be the True Ending's Big Bad about 70 hours of gameplay later.

* 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".

** Used for hilarious results in ''OG Gaiden'' where Touma (''Alpha 3'' protagonist who has yet to appear in the series proper) appears as a Soba Delivery man, and in a voice acting joke, later on gets harassed by the Shura General [[Gonk|Magnaz Ald]], who happens to be voiced by the same seiyuu of his future rival [[Boisterous Bruiser|Baran Doban]] (do note that Touma has yet to [[Took a Level In Badass|take a level in badass]], so it is very plausible that he offers so little resistance). There's also Aqua Centrum (''[[Super Robot Wars MX|SRW MX]]'' protagonist) as a regular Federation soldier, in a [[Continuity Nod]], Aqua says that she would never wear anything as [[Stripperiffic]] as Lamia Loveless' clothes. She's right: In ''MX'', she wears even ''less''.

** 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).

** In the same game, [[Gundam Seed|Mwu La Flaga]], [[Gundam SEED Astray|Gai Murakumo]], and Yohko from ''Detonator Orgun'' all appear in the first half of the game as playable characters, even though their storylines technically don't even happen until the second half.

* ''[[Baten Kaitos]]'' has one with an important villain for a good portion of the game being visible {{spoiler|while the player selects his/her name and gender}}. This is later shown when the player witnesses the same scene as part of the story.

* Perhaps the best example of this trope is played in Troika's ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]]'', where {{spoiler|Jack, the first person you interact with, along with The Cab Driver responsible for getting the Main Character around Los Angeles, turn out to be responsible for ''everything'' that has happened throughout the game. The Cab Driver is even heavily implied to be ''Cain'', the ''Father of all Vampires''! Amusingly, if the player chooses to play as a Malkavian, this plot twist is [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] during dialogue with some characters, though it is difficult to spot without having played through the game at least once.}}

* In ''[[Dragon Age]]'', an unnamed Circle mage at Ostagar objects to Cailan's plan to have [[Player Character|The Warden]] and [[The Lancer|Alistair]] light the beacon for the army - and is promptly slapped down for his impudence by a nearby priestess. {{spoiler|He turns out to be Uldred, a [[Blood Magic|blood mage]] who later becomes the demon-infested stage boss of the Circle Tower.}}

** And in ''[[Dragon Age II]]'', during the first scene of Act I, an imperious armored woman with blonde curls glares down at a pickpocket as she passes by. Much later, she turns out to be Knight-Commander Meredith, head of Kirkwall's [[Church Militant|Templars]] and {{spoiler|the game's [[Final Boss]]}}.

* In ''[[Breath of Fire III]]'', there's {{spoiler|Peco}}, seemingly unimportant to the plot, with all his lines being pretty much comic relief. Then, out of nowhere, he saves your entire party from total annihilation simply because {{spoiler|he's Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life.}}

** And on the subject of Cloud's past, there's the Shinra soldier that is seen throughout Cloud's flashbacks of the Nibelheim incident. {{spoiler|It turns out to be Cloud himself, as Zack was REALLY the one that was in SOLDIER and was Sephiroth's partner}}.

** Same thing happens with a certain Russian scientist in ''Battle Network 3''...

*** Also, a possible subversion... In the ''[[Mega Man Star Force]]'' anime, as the FM-ians are outside the TV station ready to gate-crash Libra's show, [[Hot Shounen Mom|Hope Stelar/Akane Hoshikawa]] (Geo's/Subaru's mum) is seen walking nearby behind them (And with an arrow pointing her out in a style similar to how every [[Chekhov's Gun]] in ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'' is pointed out). Amusingly enough, she DOES end up as a contestant in Libra's show and beats Cancer at it, but she ends up losing all importance afterwards.

* The first meeting with {{spoiler|Shandra Jerro}} in ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]'' seems to serve no purpose and feels like filler. Then {{spoiler|her grandfather becomes important to the plot. She's held [[Hostage for McGuffin]], is rescued, joins the party...}}

** 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.

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

** {{spoiler|Lang's assistant Shih-na,}} who barely says a word throughout the entirety of the case she first appears in, is {{spoiler|Calisto Yew, murderer and [[The Dragon]] to the head of the smuggling ring.}}

** 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.}}

** 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}}

** {{spoiler|Magus}} takes this concept [[Up to Eleven]]. He gets introduced as simply being the [[Big Bad]] of the Middle Ages, but his real significance to the plot is revealed slowly over the course of the game. {{spoiler|He is revealed to be the reason why Frog is in his amphibian form, then we first meet him trying to summon the [[Final Boss]]. ''And then'' we meet him in 12,000 B.C., in two forms at once. He is conspicuously introduced as both a bizarre prophet who is using his own knowledge of the future to [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulate]] the Queen of Zeal, and the young Prince Janus (who is a [[Chekhov's Gunman]] in his own right), who is later shown being blasted into the Middle Ages, after (in his adult form) both he and the player party lose a [[Hopeless Boss Fight]] against Lavos. ''And then again'', he is later recruitable.}}

** 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.

*** Speaking of which, The Trickster Norstein Bekkler is an inversion of this trope combined with a [[Guide Dang It]]: He appears as a special character, but is simply the introduction to several minigames, which have almost no impact on the actual game. {{spoiler|However, later you are required to find someone who can produce a Clone of Crono to save the poor boy from oblivion. Guess who you have to find?}} If you never played any of his minigames, you would never figure it out. Granted, you don't actually have to accomplish this task to continue with the game, but {{spoiler|reviving the main character is kinda important}}.

* ''[[No One Lives Forever]]'' features a middle-age drunk civilian who appears in almost every level of the game. In the [[After the Credits]] reveal, he's shown to be {{spoiler|the [[Big Bad]] Director of H.A.R.M., and serves as the main villain in the sequel}}.

* The first few days in ''[[Persona 3]]'' have over half the future Social Links making quick appearances.

** True, but none of those pretend to be anything other than what they are, and players who are aware of the Social Link mechanic would naturally see any character they meet as a potential link. A better example is {{spoiler|Ikutsuki}}, a conspicuously inoffensive character who is introduced early on, does next to nothing of note for much of the game (he's one of the few characters who fails to exhibit any obvious signs of a [[Dark and Troubled Past]]), and surprises absolutely no one when {{spoiler|he turns out to be [[The Man Behind the Man]].}}

** As well as {{spoiler|Adachi, who is ultimately revealed as the murderer despite being a mere inept detective up to that point.}} The game's main plot practically runs off of this trope.

* {{spoiler|Captain Wesker}} in ''[[Resident Evil]]'' fits this quite well. {{spoiler|He poofs off at the start of the game and then turns out to be the [[Big Bad]] of the entire series, except for ''[[Resident Evil 4]]''. Kind of.}}

** 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.]]}}

* Stage 2 of ''[[Touhou Project]]'' game ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'' features the nekomata Chen as midboss and boss. She is written off as an unhelpful nuisance, like most bosses before Stage 4. {{spoiler|In the Extra Stage, she returns as the midboss - she's the shikigami of Ran Yakumo, the Extra Boss and herself shikigami to [[Bonus Boss|Phantasm Boss]] Yukari Yakumo.}}

** But wait! It gets better with {{spoiler|Kogasa in ''Undefined Fantastic Object''}}. [[Brick Joke|Surprise!]] {{spoiler|And again in ''Ten Desires''!}}

** 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.}}

** The original did this with Parakarry.

** 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]].

* ''[[Paladins Quest]]'' has Duke, a party member who only stays with you for roughly the first five minutes of the game. He turns out to be {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|Zaygos]], who was using you to awaken the destructive creature Dal Gren.}}

* 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]]}}.

* Subverted in ''[[Grandia II]]'' by Tessa, {{spoiler|who might fool you into thinking she may be recruitable, or secretly a bad guy, but is in fact neither and dies for real within 10 minutes, despite having a VA and profile picture.}}

* The Kid in ''[[Jak]] II'' isn't just the lost heir, he's {{spoiler|Jak's younger self}}. Also, Veger may have kicked Jak out of Haven, but it wasn't personal... except {{spoiler|he knew that Jak was the little kid, he knew who Jak's father was, and he was responsible for separating the two of them in the first place}}.

* Amy of the ''[[Soul Series]]'' first appeared in a minor role in the [[Attract Mode]] of ''Soul Calibur II'' hiding Raphel from Guards. She returns as a playable bonus character and Raphel's main motivation in the next game, revamped for the arcade version into a full character and then revamped again for ''Soul Calibur IV'' as a full character.

** 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.

** Gryan Stoutmantle, a low-level questgiver who hangs out in Sentinel Hill in the original content and leads the Westfall Militia. Come ''Wrath'', he's been upgraded to ''Captain'' Gryan Stoutmantle, leader of the Westfall ''Brigade'' and commander of the Alliance's military efforts in Grizzly Hills.

* The original ''[[Fallout]]'' doesn't so much have a Chekhov's Gunman as it has a Chekhov's ''town''. The game's [[First Town]] is a quaint little village where you perform a few mini quests like giving pointers to the town farmers, clearing out a nearby radscorpion den, helping create an antidote to radscorpion venom, and dealing with the local Raider threat. {{spoiler|This small village goes on to become [[The Federation|the New California Republic]], one of the most powerful and influential factions in the setting}}.

* The second ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]'' game features Torkoal, the local elder, who the heroes meet at a hot spring at the end of Waterfall Cave. {{spoiler|He turns up again when the heroes and the guild need a lead on where to find the [[Disc One Final Dungeon|Hidden Land]]; being the oldest Pokemon in Treasure Town, Torkoal supplied his old wisdom to the guild, and thanks to him, they managed to find where it is.}}

** 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.}}

** Arley, Hocus, Kasa, and Edward from ''Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs''. They are introduced at various points in the game, Arley and Edward are introduced at the beginning. The player dismisses them as pointless [[NPC|NPCs]]. Towards the middle of the game, they all gather and have a tea party. {{spoiler|Towards the end of the game, they raise a giant fortress into the sky, and they destroy the island that they player started out in. It turns out they were controlling the evil group of the game, and they wanted to take over the world. They are the final bosses of the game.}}

** 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.}}

* Dr. Harlan Fontaine in ''[[LA Noire]]'' only appeared in some newspaper flashbacks where the early ones usually showed him doing seemingly innocuous things. It turned out that he was one of higher up members of the Suburban Redevelopment Fund which was responsible for the events of the Arson section.

* 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.

* At the very start of [[Guild Wars|Guild Wars Prophecies]], you meet a friendly, innocent 10 year old girl named Gwen. You can talk to her and she will follow you around. If you give her flowers and a new flute, she will even give you a tapestry shred as a sign of friendship. Then the Searing happens and Ascalon is destroyed, ending the tutorial and beginning the game for real one year later. Gwen is not mentioned again, although you can find a broken flute and a torn girl's cape, implying she had been a victim of the Searing. Two full follow-up games and an expansion pack later, you meet up with Gwen again, now 8 years older and a cold-hearted, ass-kicking Mesmer, after spending years as a slave. She goes on to be a major character in the Eye of the North expansion pack and the subsequent Guild Wars Beyond missions.

** As a bonus, the tapestry shroud she gave you kicks off a quest where you go on a mission with her to find, you guessed it, the flute you gave her 8 years ago. [[Chekhov's Gun]], indeed.

* [[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.

* [[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 ==

* 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.

* ''[[Girl Genius]]'': Krosp the emperor of all cats is in the last panel of [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031210 This page] among Dr. Demitri's teddybears.

** The Geisters... they first appear in the above-mentioned phenomenon report from Dupree.

** Franz, a huge lizardlike monster who lives in the sewers of Mechanicsburg was introduced trying to have a nap in june 2008. In december 2011, he awoke, and came to the defense of the Heterodynes.

** 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 ''[[8-Bit Theater (Webcomic)|Eight Bit Theater]]'', {{spoiler|the little kid who is orphanized by the Light Warriors}} is introduced and makes some minor appearances, until it's revealed that {{spoiler|it's Sarda's past self.}}

* Incidental characters in ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]]'' usually wind up with something more significant to do later on. [[Gentle Giant|Rocko Sasquatch]] is probably the best example, being introduced as just a quick joke--the huge scary guy Bob has to share a jail cell with for a couple of strips--and then returning two years later as a major character.

** Then there's {{spoiler|the alternate John who Terezi tricked into flying to his death. His death led to the Dave in his timeline going back and becoming Davesprite, but after that he was completely forgotten until dead Vriska meets him with a dream bubble, and thinking he's "her" John, takes him on a tour/date.}}

** Oh look, it's a little guy walking across the desert. Oh, he's found something with a [[Arc Symbol|spirograph]] on it, hey, is that John? Oh, this Wayward Vagabond guy was the one talking! Aaaand he's {{spoiler|going to be the one who fights [[Big Bad|Jack Noir.]] }}

*** {{spoiler|The Empress herself is also a [[Chekhov's Gunman]], having been referred to in Feferi's introduction.}}

** 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 of the first story arcs of [[Demon Eater]], we see a white giant. Later on, she's revealed to be a member of one of the strongest Demon Societies in the story.

** 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]].

* Like the ''[[FoxTrot]]'' example, in a ''[[Pv P Online]]'' murder mystery arc, Francis is briefly shown, then fades as suspicion shifts to "Tom Bolero." Francis turns out to be the murderer.

* 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.

== Web Original ==

** During a Christmas review, Linkara refuses to do [[Yet Another Christmas Carol]], even though the spirits keep arriving. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come gets a reaction from him... "Is that a robot hand?" It's the first appearance of {{spoiler|Mechakara}} within the reviews.

* 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]]''.}}

** 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.}}

* From the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]:'' The tall, impressive looking woman standing just behind and to the right of crimelord Baron Samedi in the early story that introduced Samedi as a [[Diabolical Mastermind]]? Yeah, it turns out that she's more than just Samedi's [[The Dragon|Dragon]]. It turns out she's Battle, the mother of Stone, the former Global Guardian.

* [[The Descendants]] does this a lot: Elizabeth von Stoker is introduced in Volume 1 as a [[Girl of the Week]] and becomes recurring villains Freaque in volume 2. Callie Kreiger is first seen as an almost faceless part of a [[Girl Posse]] in Volume 2, becomes an [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]] in Volume 3 and finally helps save the city in Volume 4. Finally, Jay Willis starts as a random [[Gang Banger]] in Issue three and becomes the Descendants version of [[The Juggernaut]] in Issue 48!

* [[The Questport Chronicles]]: So, that mage who shows up in the first quest of the third year? Yeah, turns out that {{spoiler|he was responsible for the destruction of Questport.}}

* ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'': Evolution has Khalid Shamoun, a "winner" of a previous experiment run, who first appeared {{spoiler|in the prologue, being shot by the scientists after mouthing off to show that they won't allow rebellion}}. Later he's put on the island as a player for the second time partway through. Another example, this time from the main site, would be Yelizaveta "Bounce" Volkova, who first appeared as a character in the in-universe chat and later made a appearance in the main game.

* Eric Rosethorn from ''[[The Quest for Geekdom]]'' makes a brief appearance as a one shot character. Later he becomes {{spoiler|the big bad.}}

** Also, Amy Wong, Dr. Zoidberg, Hermes Conrad, Kif Kroker, Zapp Brannigan, Scruffy, and Smitty all flash past during the opening credits of the first episode. Smitty shows up with Url later in the episode, Amy, Zoidberg and Hermes don't show up until the second episode, Kif and Zapp don't show up until the fourth, and Scruffy doesn't appear until the sixth.

** 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.}}

{{quote| '''Phoebe:''' Scooby snacks are on me.}}

** 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.

** {{spoiler|No he didn't, everyone just thinks he did}}.

** 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.

** 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]].

** Titania is first introduced as {{spoiler|Anastasia Renard, Fox's mother,}} several episodes before she appears on screen, where she comments that Goliath earned her favor due to previous services rendered. {{spoiler|About two episodes later, Anastasia and Titania are revealed to be the same person.}} Similarly, in his debut episode, Puck mentions that he works for humans, one in particular ("the human" in Demona's words), because they are fun. Nearly 40 episodes later he is revealed to be {{spoiler|Xanatos' right-hand man, Owen Burnett, who had been a recurring minor character since episode two}}. [[Word of God]] insists that many of these developed around mid-season 2, mostly after the writing staff realized how much stuff said offhand came together with the newer stories.

** And you have Brendan and Margot, two recurring victims of events involving the gargoyles. Margot then later becomes adviser for the NYPD Gargoyle Task Force when the clan is revealed to the world, and she is an Assistant District Attorney in the Goliath Chronicles.

* ''[[Kim Possible]]'' has a few of these. When Ron Stoppable had a speech Dr. Vivian Porter was briefly seen in the audience; in the next episode she got a main supporting role. Also in that episode Justine Flanner was scene in another set of an audience, and she got a main supporting role several episodes later.

* Porter C. Powell in ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' is an accidental example. He was twice in the first season: the first is as one of [[Mad Scientist|Prometheus Black]]'s financiers letting him know that his funding is being cut and he's not getting anymore test subjects, the second is as a random bystander when Professor Sumdac unveiled the improved Dinobots. In the first episode of season two we find out that he's Chairman of the Board of Sumdac Systems and proceeds to take over the company in Sumdac's absence and [[Kick the Dog|kick Sari out of her home for using money to try and find her dad]], solidifying his role as both a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] and the most important human villain. However, his role and [[Retcon|his position on the board]] only came into being when the show's staff members took a liking to his character design and bugged the head story editor into featuring him in a larger role.

* A similar accidental example, though not in the same series, can be found in ''[[The Ren and Stimpy Show]]'', which had a character named George Liquor, who had a starring role in the episodes "Man's Best Friend" ([[Missing Episode|kept off of Nickelodeon]]) and "Dog Show", as well as some cameo appearances here and there. [[Nickelodeon]] didn't like the character, and gave the rights to him to [[John Kricfalusi]] once he is fired from the series' production. George Liquor has starred in his own webseries since then, which is currently getting a revival.

** Phantom Limb started off as a throwaway character attending the Venture yard sale, but he ended up coming back and becoming season two's [[Big Bad]].

* The frequent [[Early-Bird Cameo|Early Bird Cameos]] in ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'' function this way for a viewer unfamiliar with the Spider-Man mythos, as ostensibly tertiary characters are developed into supporting cast and antagonists.

* On ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'', both [[Drill Sergeant Nasty|General Molotov]] and [[Crazy Awesome|Saffi]] were originally background characters before being revealed as Lucius' [[The Dragon|dragon]] and Beezy's [[Beta Couple|girlfriend]], respectively.

** Big Macintosh and Granny Smith from the family reunion; the former seems well on his way to becoming a regular.

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

* The vast majority of elected officials, especially those from notably humble origins such as [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[Barack Obama]], although humble origins are not a requirement: [[John F Kennedy]] and [[George W. Bush]] were less important sons of powerful men who did not carry the weight of expectations that their siblings did... at least, not at first.

* 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.

** 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'.

* In 1919, 45 years before US involvement in [[The Vietnam War]], Ho Chi Minh wrote a letter to the [[World War One|Paris Peace Conference]] asking for French colonial domination of Vietnam to end. He was completely ignored, [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|which is believed to be a contributing factor in]] [[Start of Darkness|him becoming a communist.]]