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{{meta-trope}}
{{Unmarked Spoilers}}
A [[Walking Spoiler]] is [[Exactly What It Says
Can overlap with [[It Was His Sled]], if the work in question is old enough that pretty much everybody already knows about the various plot twists. ▼
{{examples|Examples:}}▼
▲Can overlap with [[It Was His Sled]], if the work in question is old enough that pretty much everybody already knows about the various plot twists.
== Anime and Manga ==
* This trope was inspired by ''The Idea of Evil'' from the ''[[
* [[Knight Templar|Danzo]] from ''[[
** Madara Uchiha from ''Naruto'' would also fit, since he is thought to be dead for a long time.
*** And then it turns out that he ''was'' dead, and the guy who's been pretending to be him all this time is someone else altogether.
** Even Tsunade is one, since her becoming Fifth Hokage reveals that the Third Hokage, who resumed office after the death of the Fourth Hokage, is dead.
* The Young Conductor from ''[[Baccano
* Hanyuu in ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro
** In ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro
* In ''[[
* King Bradley/Wrath from ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (
** Also, Father -looks like an old Hohenheim clone while Hohenheim's appearance is a spoiler, is the actual [[Big Bad]] behind a giant conspiracy.
** In the 2003 ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (
* In ''[[
* Risa Kamizaki and Mika Makihara from ''[[
* Mello and Near from ''[[
* In ''[[
* The Character page for ''[[
* Nia in ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'': is the Spiral King's daughter, appears after Kamina's death.
* Zeref from ''[[
* ''[[Princess Principal]]'' has two walking spoilers: Ange and Charlotte. Or, more accurately, [[Prince and Pauper|Charlotte and Ange]].
* Shiny Chariot and Professor Ursula from the ''[[Little Witch Academia]]'' franchise. The first half of the [[Little Witch Academia (2017 series)|series]] establishes that Akko is obsessed with Chariot, and really wants to meet her. The second reveals that Chariot was her Professor Ursula all along, and that the ''real'' Chariot was right under Akko's nose the whole time.
== Comic Books ==
* It's pretty much impossible to discuss ''[[
* Just try to explain the original concept of Thunderbolts without revealing the twist.
* Trying to discuss Ozymandias of [[Watchmen]] in much detail beyond his being a resourceful rich and powerful person is difficult without spoiling not only that he's the hidden mastermind behind much of the events of the series, but his motive for doing so.
==
* The ''[[Katawa Shoujo]]'' fic ''[[
* Ekaj in ''[[
* To say anything about Lyle Hemlock of ''[[Ace Attorney: Contempt of Court]]'' other than the fact that he's introduced as some sort of hidden puppet master, would be to spoil just about everything about its finale case.
* There's also not a lot to say about Luciano in ''Ace Attorney: Conflict of Interest'' aside from the fact that he's a criminal assassin and supposedly a [[Posthumous Character]]. Anything else would be major spoilers for the finale case.
▲== Film ==
* Harry Lime from ''[[The Third Man]]'' is also a possible example, because throughout most of the movie he's thought to be dead.
* Axelrod from ''[[Cars 2]]
* [[Thanos]] from [[The Stinger|the first stinger]] for ''[[The Avengers (
* Kylo Ren from ''[[Star Wars]]: [[The Force Awakens]]''. Everything about him other than the fact that he's an obvious Darth Vader wannabe is a major spoiler for the film and its sequels.
* Hans from ''[[Frozen]]''. He's one of two potential [[Love Interest]]s for Anna, but then...
* Bellwether, the Deputy Mayor of ''[[Zootopia]]'' who initially is Judy Hopps' influential friend in high places. But then it turns out she has a much different role in the events of the movie than we were initially led to believe.
* King Candy in ''[[Wreck-It Ralph]]'' is this to some extent, with his true identity being a plot twist.
* Boingo, the bunny from ''[[Hoodwinked]]''. At first, he seems to be a chatty friend of Red's, but then he shows up in strange other contexts as the other characters tell their version of the day's events. It's difficult to discuss him in detail without revealing the main mystery in the film. Like Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew of ''[[Harry Potter]]'', he reappears in the sequel, and [[Late Arrival Spoiler|it's assumed viewers already know the twist]].
== Literature ==
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* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' is such an extreme example of this, it is impossible to give a one sentence plot overview of the series without giving one and a half spoilers as one has to say that the king dies and for various reasons he doesn't have a direct heir
* The ''[[Steerswoman]]'' books are actually relatively hard science fiction novels about a Lost Colony, not fantasy.
* In ''[[The Gone-Away World]]'', the hero doesn't actually exist until about halfway through the
* The last ''[[Mistborn]]'' book is a bit tricky to describe without giving away that a) the real [[Big Bad]] is the god of destruction, Ruin, and b) at the end of the first book, Marsh was turned into a Steel Inquisitor, which is now allowing Ruin to use him as a puppet.
** From the same author, you can't really talk about the second half of ''[[Warbreaker]]'' without revealing that God King Susebron is a perfectly harmless figurehead rather than an [[Evil Overlord]]
* Rock and Hollyleaf from ''[[Warrior Cats]]''. Rock because he's
* Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew from ''[[Harry Potter (
* Welstiel in the Noble Dead series of books by Barb and J.C. Hendee is a man of mystery in the first book, ''Dhampir''. Starting from the second book and continuing into the third, we discover his true nature, his backstory and relation to the protagonist Magiere, and his goals.
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* River Song from ''[[
==
* Purple Eyes from ''[[Pokémon Ranger
▲* River Song from ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]''. This even applies ''in the series'' - thanks to time travel shenanigans, her timeline runs in the opposite direction of the Doctor's, so her "earlier" is his (and the viewers') "later." Her catchphrase literally ''is'' "Spoilers!"
▲* Purple Eyes from [[Pokémon Ranger (Video Game)|Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs]]. He comes in after the [[Not So Fast Bucko]] ending as the new leader, and directly leads into the next villain.
* In ''[[Dragon Age Origins]]'', every mention of major villain Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir as a possible [[Player Party]] member is always covered in spoiler tags because the very fact that he can become one is a major plot twist. When that is not possible, he is conventionally referred to as "Secret Companion".
* The infamous Hidden Fun Stuff from ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]''. It's an [[Unusual Euphemism]] for Hell and its resident horde of demons, which will invade your fortress if you dig too deep.
* The 16th playable character in ''[[
* Darkrai from the second set of ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]'' games is an example of a [[Man Behind the Man]] who appears [[Your Princess Is in Another Castle|after you think the story is over]].
* ''[[Mass Effect]]'' has several examples of this
** The revelation that Sovereign from the first game is the true [[Big Bad]] is treated as extremely sensitive. The Reapers in general are not considered spoiler information, but ''he'' is.
** Legion from ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' doesn't join you until the endgame, and the fact that [[Pronoun Trouble|he/it/they]] even ''can'' be a protagonist is a twist, causing him to be a major source of spoiler tags.
** Morinth from the same game. You can recruit her in place of her mother, Samara, if you choose to betray the latter during the climax of her loyalty mission. Even the fact that the Ardat-Yakshi is Samara's daughter is a twist.
** The Human Reaper from the same game is the final boss, and the entire Collector plot revolves around it.
** Javik in Mass Effect 3, since his very existence spoils the fact that not all the Protheans are dead, since the first game had the few survivors' life pods run out of power while on Ilos, and by the time Shepard and company reach it they've all been powered down. Also ties into [[The Reveal]] in Mass Effect 2 that the Collectors are actually indoctrinated Protheans.
** The Catalyst from the same game, since he literally only appears in the last scene of the game.
* Damn near every character in ''[[Xenoblade]]'' except for maybe Reyn and Riki, although Fiora is by far the most obvious one considering she was implied to have died a few hours in but got turned into a [[Robot Girl]] instead.
** But most especially Zanza, who seemed to be a semi-important character introduced and swiftly killed off at the end of the Prison Island storyline. Turns out that ''technically'' wasn't even him, and not only is he the [[Final Boss]], but one of the two gods of the world and the Monado itself!
* Wheatley turning out to be an antagonist in ''[[
* In ''[[
** The mild-mannered pacifist Captain Hazama was one himself until the trailers for ''Continuum Shift'' outed his secret.
** Mu-12 was one as well, until the ''Continuum Shift II'' trailer casually showed Noel transforming into her.
* Yomiel, the mysterious [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Ghost Trick]]''. When he shows up, the game pretty much heads into one [[Mind Screw]] and [[Plot Twist]] after another.
* Clayface in ''[[Batman: Arkham City]]''. Along with a few characters in sidequests.
* June and Ace from ''[[Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors]]'', as both turn out to be the primary antagonists (and the true protagonist in June's case) in roundabout ways.
* Joshua, and, to a lesser extent, Hanekoma in ''[[The World Ends With You]]''. Kitaniji too, as you don't really learn his real role in the plot until the very end.
* A few ''[[Kirby]]'' villains can fall under this trope, such as Magolor from ''[[
* Normally, Kor from ''[[Jak II Renegade]]'' would just be your typical old man. Most of his tropes come from the fact that he's really the Metal Head Leader in disguise.
** Then the reveal that Jak and Samos are originally from the future and the time machine they found in the past was infact the same one made by Kira at the end of the game that was supposed to bring them back.
* The fact that Revan is the [[Player Character]] of ''[[Knights of the Old Republic (
* After you defeat Medusa in ''[[Kid Icarus: Uprising]]'' and the fake credits roll, [[Bigger Bad|The true Villain, Hades,]] comes in and takes over the Underworld Army. And since we were build up to believe that Medusa was the Villain with no hints of Hades being in the game...
** To a lesser extent, pretty much everyone who is introduced after Chapter 9, which is built to look as much like the final dungeon as possible.
* In the ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' series, on this wiki, the more spoiler tags that are on a character's entry in the character sheet, the more likely they are to be a murderer. Each of the games' main antagonists count.
* The Golden Spider/Chakravartin from ''[[
* Forrest Kaysen from ''[[Deadly Premonition]]''. Many spoilers are required to conceal that the fat, jolly tree salesman is not only the [[Big Bad]] of the game, but a [[Complete Monster]] [[Humanoid Abomination]] to boot.
* About two-thirds of the way through ''[[Final Fantasy V]]'', the party meets Krile. She is a friendly young girl. This is the most detail you can describe her with if you don't want to reveal that she is Galuf's granddaughter, a princess (because he is really a king), or that she [[Take Up My Sword|takes his place]] upon his death.
* Lion and Will's first appearance in ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro
* ''[[The Binding of Isaac]]'' takes the cake with '''five''' different examples, primarily due to the abundance of [[Brutal Bonus Level|bonus levels]]. The first two, Mom's Heart and It Lives, are mostly out of this territory since their section of the dungeon is almost immediately unlocked. Satan, secret boss of Sheol, is considerably more of a spoiler, but probably more well-known since the Halloween update has been out for a while. The biggest ones are Isaac himself as the standard final boss of [[Bonus Level of Heaven|The Cathedral]], and Daddy Long Legs II/The Tri-Achnid as the ultimate super-secret final boss. (For now, anyway.)
* Non-character example, [[Cool Sword| the Keyblade]] in ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]''. Trying to explain what this weapon is and what it's for would likely spoil about 20 games in the franchise, so if you're new to said franchise, it's best not to get into it.
* In ''[[Undertale]]'', there are Asriel Dreemurr and the Fallen Child. We learn about their existence near the end of the neutral route, and they play a role in the Good and the Genocide Routes.
* ''[[Five Nights at Freddy's]]'' is one of the most [[Spoilered Rotten]] game franchises ever made, and ''any'' discussion about the past and motivations of ''any'' character is likely to give something away.
* The Trinity in ''[[Skullgirls]]''. They only appear in the flesh in an ending that can only be unlocked by viewing all the other endings, with their motivations revealed, for this very reason.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Diva'ratrika Val'Sharen, Liriel and "Diva" from ''[[
** And most things about Kalki Nidraa'chal from the same series also qualify. While she actually appears in the Prologue of the story, it takes 25 chapters for us to find out what her deal is. And while quite a few people had already [[I Knew It!|guessed that]] she was really Snadhya'rune Vel'Sharen's daughter, even with a [[Shrug of God]] that while she was Snadhya's daughter Snadhya [[Exact Words|had never given birth]], chapter 25 was a [[Wham! Episode]] in that the explanation of how this was possible also revealed ''other'' gigantic spoilers: Mainly, that the [[Mad Scientist|Val'Jaal'darya]] have not only figured out how to carry a child outside of the mother's womb, but also [[Homosexual Reproduction|make a child have two mothers]]. And Kalki's second mom? None other than Mel'arnach Val'Sarghress, the protagonist Ariel's [[Family Relationship Switcheroo|real mother]], which basically makes Kalki related to half of the important cast members in some form or another. Whew.▼
* In ''[[Homestuck]]'' Doc Scratch is a near-omniscient being who's the First Guardian of the trolls' universe, while it was somewhat of a late revelation that the trolls live on another planet. Scratch is also the precursor to Lord English, a mobster who turns out to be one of the three [[Big Bad
==
* Queen Chrysalis and the Changelings, from ''[[My Little Pony
▲* Diva'ratrika Val'Sharen, Liriel and "Diva" from ''[[Drow Tales]]'' due to the fact that they are all technically the same person, with the last one being the final result of a [[Fusion Dance]] of the Diva'ratrika with a servant, with Liriel being the incomplete fusion. All of which spoils the fact that Diva'ratrika has been dead since nearly the start of the story, with the coup that eventually killed her occurring in the story's prologue.
* Hiroshi Sato in ''[[
▲** And most things about Kalki Nidraa'chal from the same series also qualify. While she actually appears in the Prologue of the story, it takes 25 chapters for us to find out what her deal is. And while quite a few people had already [[I Knew It|guessed that]] she was really Snadhya'rune Vel'Sharen's daughter, even with a [[Shrug of God]] that while she was Snadhya's daughter Snadhya [[Exact Words|had never given birth]], chapter 25 was a [[Wham Episode]] in that the explanation of how this was possible also revealed ''other'' gigantic spoilers: Mainly, that the [[Mad Scientist|Val'Jaal'darya]] have not only figured out how to carry a child outside of the mother's womb, but also [[Homosexual Reproduction|make a child have two mothers]]. And Kalki's second mom? None other than Mel'arnach Val'Sarghress, the protagonist Ariel's [[Family Relationship Switcheroo|real mother]], which basically makes Kalki related to half of the important cast members in some form or another. Whew.
* Breakdown in ''[[Transformers Prime]]'', whose death and implied rebirth as Silas' [[Brain Uploading|new body]] have seemingly caused Hasbro to delay and deny the existence of his toy.
▲* In ''[[Homestuck]]'' Doc Scratch is a near-omniscient being who's the First Guardian of the trolls' universe, while it was somewhat of a late revelation that the trolls live on another planet. Scratch is also the precursor to Lord English, a mobster who turns out to be one of the three [[Big Bad|BigBads]]... [[Mind Screw|or something]].
▲* Queen Chrysalis and the Changelings, from ''[[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]''. [[Outside Context Villain|Their very appearance is a spoiler]], as promotional material for the season 2 finale made the episode seem to be about wedding hijinks.
▲* Hiroshi Sato in ''[[The Legend of Korra (Animation)|The Legend of Korra]]'', whose part in the [[Seventh Episode Twist]] turns his entire characterization on its ear.
▲* Breakdown in ''[[Transformers Prime]]'', whose death and implied rebirth as Silas' [[Brain Uploading|new body]] have seemingly caused Hasbro to delay and deny the existence of his toy.
* Shockwave in ''[[Transformers Animated]]'', right down to him ''being'' Shockwave, as he was undercover as the Autobot Longarm.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Spoilered Rotten]]
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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