History Main / BreakoutCharacter

* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': Stolas is in the pilot for all of 30 seconds, and the wiki has him billed as a "Major Supporting Character". Yet despite this, he has more focus episodes than Loona and Millie ''combined'', despite both being billed as ''actual'' main characters.

[[quoteright:250:[[Series/HappyDays https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/happy_days.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Hmmm. Something has changed about who's important enough to be on the cover, and where...]]

[[quoteright:250:[[Series/HappyDays https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/HappyDaysPan_161.jpg]]]]

* Magnus Bane from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' was only meant to have a minor role in the first book of the series, but due to the amount of positive reception by the fans he received an expanded role as both a secondary character and [[spoiler:Alec Lightwood]]’s love interest -– appearing in every book in the series. He also went on to appear in the prequel series –- ''Literature/TheInfernalDevices'', and got a series of short stories that were told from his perspective –- ''Literature/TheBaneChronicles''. He is also one of the main characters of ''Literature/TheEldestCurses'' together with Alec.

* Jeffy of ''WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan''. Originally, he was supposed to be a one time character in Mario the Babysitter. However, so many fans ended up liking him that he returned a few months later. Now, the character has practically taken over the channel. He now appears in most videos, has merchandise, and has even multiplied the channel’s sub count by 10 in less than 3 years.

* ''WebAnimationIfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'': The character Boy was initially introduced in the podcasts as the kid who holds the microphone and acts as an AudienceSurrogate given that he knows absolutely nothing about the world he lives in. His role grew in the podcasts as Rogal Dorn's adopted son, and come the SpiritualSuccessor ''WebAnimation/HunterTheParenting'', he's a member of the main cast from the get-go.

** Gilgamesh is also in a similar boat, only becoming a main antagonist in one route (in the others, he is alternately a ''secondary'' partner in the BigBadEnsemble, or [[spoiler:he's taken out without ceremony by the ''proper'' BigBad]]). However, he has since appeared as a major antagonist in the prequel ''Anime/FateZero'', as a playable servant in ''Fate/Extra CCC'', as a main character in ''Literature/FateStrangeFake'', and as a main character in the penultimate chapter of ''Fate/Grand Order'''s first MythArc, among other roles.

This is that character. Usually starring in a sitcom, the breakout character quickly grabs hold of the audience's attention and writers take advantage of this energy. Someone who was once a one-note C-character, such as a SatelliteCharacter or a LivingProp, becomes a central part of the regular cast. Often liable to lead to a SpinOff, or be subject to becoming an AdaptationalBadass. Sometimes, a breakout character becomes such because they fill a niche in the cast that wasn't previously filled or acts as an impressive foil to TheHero.

Trying to intentionally make a breakout character before they're even introduced to audiences can also lead to some [[CharacterShilling unfortunate results]].

* Creator/DouglasAdams originally intended Marvin the Paranoid Android to be a one-off character in ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''; he supposed that there were only so many jokes you could get out of a robot with [[TheEeyore Eeyore-like depression]]. He's the most popular and well-remembered character in the franchise to the point he's considered the SeriesMascot.

* Radio/{{The Adam Carolla Show}}:

* ''Literature/FateApocrypha'': Despite being mostly a secondary antagonist throughout Apocrypha and [[Literature/{{Mahabharata}} his myth ]] being lesser known to the Japanese audience, Karna's popularity caught on quickly and made him easily one of the most popular Servants introduced in the novels. This led him to be a secondary character in ''VideoGame/FateExtraCCC'', being a playable character in ''VideoGame/FateExtella'' and one of the most prominent Servants in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' not introduced in the game itself.

* ''VisualNovel/GrisaiaSeries'': Matsushima Michiru became somewhat of a fan favorite. She was the lead of a standalone side story to ''Grisai''a, and the main novel, ''[[VisualNovel/TheEdenOfGrisaia Eden]]'' seemed to weirdly favor her among the love interests, despite the story following a kind of "harem" route and a romantically non-committed protagonist, a prominence she even lampshades. Most importantly however, she received her own spin-off game, the magical girl themed ''Idol Magical Girl Chiru Chiru Michiru'', which takes place in an alternative, much more lighthearted and comedy focused ''Grisaia'' universe.

** [[CuteMute Neopolitan]] is a popular antagonist who is more interesting in many ways such as her deadly fighting style involving kicks and a [[ParasolofPain umbrella]] as her weapon, her ice cream themed design combined with a lack of voice. She became a principal villain and Cinder Fall's [[TheDragon Dragon apparent]] in Volume 6 and was made into a playable character in ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle''.

* Kurumi from ''Literature/DateALive''. Although she was always intended as a major character, being one of the Spirits around which the plot revolves, she is arguably the series' most popular character. She has her own spinoff ''Date A Live Fragment: LightNovel/DateABullet''.

* ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha'': Despite being mostly a secondary antagonist throughout Apocrypha and [[Literature/{{Mahabharata}} his myth ]] being lesser known to the Japanese audience, Karna's popularity caught on quickly and made him easily one of the most popular Servants introduced in the novels. This led him to be a secondary character in ''VideoGame/FateExtraCCC'', being a playable character in ''VideoGame/FateExtella'' and one of the most prominent Servants in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' not introduced in the game itself.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'':

** Then there's Junko Hokaze, a supporting character for Misaki Shokuhou (herself a secondary character in ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' and ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun''). Despite starting out in such a minor position -- for a long time even her name wasn't revealed -- she was popular enough to get a spinoff of her own, ''A Certain Scientific Railgun Gaiden: Astral Buddy''.

* Lyu from ''LightNovel/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon'' became popular enough to get [[LightNovel/FamiliaChronicleEpisodeLyu her own spinoff]]. It's only one volume, but it is still much more than expected considering the fact that Lyu was just one of Bell's mentors and the GirlOfTheWeek. She's become an HonoraryTrueCompanion, too.

** Velvet Scarlatina the Australian-accented bunny girl of was intended as a one-off character for Volume 1 to demonstrate [[FantasticRacism the social challenges faced]] by the [[LittleBitBeastly Faunus]]. [[TheWoobie For obvious reasons]], the fandom reaction was extremely strong, so much so that she later became a recurring character with her own team, CFVY, and the show's creators held a fan contest to submit a costume design. [[spoiler:Velvet even becomes a ChekhovsGunman in Volume 3, when she unknowingly hands Ruby information which reveals Mercury and Emerald's machinations and proves Yang's innocence. She also gets her own fight scene, where she more than holds her own against two [[MiniMecha Paladins]] at once.]] Team CFVY themselves have become so popular that a spin-off YA novel starring them, ''After the Fall'', has been announced for July 2019.

* ''[[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]]'' has Meggy the ([[HumanityEnsues former]]) [[Franchise/{{Splatoon}} Inkling]]. Originally intended to be a OneShotCharacter upon her debut in "If Mario was in...Splatoon", her heartwarming OddFriendship with Mario garnered her a wide fanbase, which eventually resulted in her being [[AscendedExtra promoted to a main cast member]] and getting her own series with ''WebAnimation/SunsetParadise''.

* Creator/LiaMarieJohnson for ''WebVideo/{{React}}''. Likely due to being older, she was significantly more popular than the other regular kids on ''Kids React'' -- which led to the creation of ''Teens React''. She even appeared in the video that announced ''Teens React'', then later made it on to ''[=YouTubers=]'' React.

* Takua of ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}''. Started out in 2001 as a nameless FeaturelessProtagonist in the ''Mata Nui Online Game'' and its prequel UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance title ''Quest for the Toa'', only receiving a name and a concrete visual appearance a year later. No toy of him was sold, although it could be built out of other sets' parts. He wasn't part of the franchise's original outline, only gaining prominence by pure chance when Toys/{{Lego}} halted the development of the PC game ''Legend of Mata Nui'' and ''MNOG'' had to hastily wrap up the story in its stead. In 2002-03, Takua had a supporting role in the online Flash videos. Seeing his popularity among fans and recognizing his potential for development, the studio Creative Capers made Takua the star of his own DirectToVideo movie ''Mask of Light'', in which he turned into the [[TheChosenOne warrior]] [[SixthRanger Takanuva]]. Both Takua and Takanuva toys were released at this point. Takanuva would be a recurring character in later years, coming back to the forefront in 2008 and 2010, both times receiving new toys while the story delved deeper into his past.

* ''LightNovel/KonoSuba'' has Megumin. Originally just another quirky addition to Kazuma's party, Megumin's cute design, {{chuunibyou}} personality, and [[FountainOfMemes meme-worthy quotes]] allowed her popularity to skyrocket past every other character, paving the way for her own spinoff series and feature film. [[spoiler:She also became the main love interest of the protagonist and basically reached OfficialCouple status with him by volume 13.]]

** [[CuteMute Neo Politan]] is a popular antagonist who is more interesting in many ways such as her deadly fighting style involving kicks and a [[ParasolofPain umbrella]] as her weapon, her ice cream themed design combined with a lack of voice. She became a principal villain and Cinder Fall's [[TheDragon Dragon apparent]] in Volume 6 and was made into a character in ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle''.

''The line between this and EnsembleDarkhorse can sometimes seem thin, and one may wonder why this isn't a YMMV trope when the latter is one. The key difference is this: the popularity of the character has to have influenced the direction of the narrative and put them into a major role, or led to the creation of new content specifically for them. That's what makes this a narrative and production trope; the influence of the character in the zeitgeist was so strong it actively, and quantitatively, influenced the production of the work. Otherwise, the character is just popular, which is often up for more debate in terms of degree, which is why Ensemble Dark Horse is a YMMV trope.''

* ''Literature/InterviewWithTheVampire'' is Louis's story, with Lestat as a villain and supporting character (he's actually absent for a good chunk of the novel midway). But thanks to all the positive feedback he got in Interview, Rice saw fit to not only make the sequel from Lestat's POV, but to pretty much make him the protagonist of the whole damn ''Literature/TheVampireChronicles'' series.

* Creator/AchievementHunter became this for Creator/RoosterTeeth. Outside of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' and ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', most videos people hunt down are dedicated to the six- to eight-man team of nutcases. For the AH crew themselves, there's Team Lads (Creator/MichaelJones, Creator/GavinFree, and Creator/RayNarvaezJr) and (until he was [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor kicked out for misconduct]]) Ryan Haywood.
* ''[[Machinima/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]]'' has Meggy the ([[HumanityEnsues former]]) [[Franchise/{{Splatoon}} Inkling]]. Originally intended to be a OneShotCharacter upon her debut in "If Mario was in...Splatoon", her heartwarming OddFriendship with Mario garnered her a wide fanbase, which eventually resulted in her being [[AscendedExtra promoted to a main cast member]] and getting her own series with ''WebAnimation/SunsetParadise''.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' has Caboose. His [[TheDitz idiotic nature]] and [[CloudCuckooLander childish randomness]] caused many fans to get attached to him. It helps that Caboose has gotten a lot of scenes in later seasons, being one of the more frequently seen characters of the Blue team to appear.

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample. Needs more context about how the characters' popularity influenced a change in their role sizes.* Despite over ''4000 entries'', two fairly early creations of the ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' stand out as the big stars. MurderousMannequin [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-173 SCP-173]] and erudite, [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal]] and [[MadeOfIron hard to kill]] reptile [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-682 SCP-682]]. Boasting huge fanbases and some of the highest up-vote counts on the entire site.

** Teresa debuted in 1987 and was a contemporary friend alongside Christie, Kira and the aforementioned Midge. Likewise, she was given [[BlondeBrunetteRedhead a variety of haircolors over the years]] and various doll lines would rotate between the quartet of available friends. Eventually, with the Christie doll being replaced by Nikki and Kira dolls being retired altogether[[note]]''Some'' fans say that Raquelle is a replacement for the Kira doll, but given how her "twin" brother Ruan is clearly ''not'' Asian and [[ShrugOfGod Mattel themselves have never confirmed this,]] for all intents and purposes, Kira is no longer available[[/note]] Teresa has become one of Barbie's most steadfast friends.

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample. Needs more context about how the characters' popularity influenced a change in their role sizes.* After they debuted, all of the members of Music/VOMSProject had approximately equal numbers of subscribers. After the ColbertBump from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5P1IzjagzI "Let's Kill The Hoe!"]] clip, Pikamee grew rapidly popular, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially among English-speaking audiences]] thanks to her [[BilingualBonus being fluently bilingual and self-dubbing]], eventually garnering more subscribers than her co-stars, Tomoshika and Monoe, ''combined''.

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample. Needs more context about how the characters' popularity influenced a change in their role sizes.* After they debuted, all of the members of WebVideo/VOMSProject had approximately equal numbers of subscribers. After the ColbertBump from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5P1IzjagzI "Let's Kill The Hoe!"]] clip, Pikamee grew rapidly popular, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially among English-speaking audiences]] thanks to her [[BilingualBonus being fluently bilingual and self-dubbing]], eventually garnering more subscribers than her co-stars, Tomoshika and Monoe, ''combined''.

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample. Needs more context about how the characters' popularity influenced a change in their role sizes.* After they debuted, all of the members of WebVideo/VOMSProject had approximately equal numbers of subscribers. After the ColbertBump from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5P1IzjagzI "Let's Kill The Hoe!"]] clip, Pikamee grew rapidly popular, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially among English-speaking audiences]] thanks to her [[BilingualBonus being fluently bilingual and self-dubbing]], eventually garnering more subscribers than her co-stars, Tomoshika and Monoe, ''combined''.