History Main / CanonCharacterAllAlong

* ''WesternAnimation/JonahAVeggieTalesMovie'' features the character Khalil, a caterpillar/worm who seems to be a CanonForeigner PluckyComicRelief character. However, at the end, he is revealed to be the worm who ate the tree Jonah was using for shade. On top of that, he [[CompositeCharacter also]] delivers a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Jonah based on God's speech from [[Literature/TheBible the source material]].

* One episode of ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'' introduces a new character known as Silas, a GentlemanThief that is now seemingly imprisoned. He spends the whole episode monologing to someone who is taking care of him but can't understand him, and the only connection this episode has to the rest of the show is him mentioning to his caretaker that "you probably haven't even left Night Vale". Until the last line of the episode: "And for the last time, my name is Silas, [[not BalefulPolymorph]] [[TeamPet Kosheck]]!"

* The ''WebVideo/TheDomReviews'' Terrence the Douchebag from Ravenclaw looked like an original character for The Dom's Harry Potter reviews, but he's heavily implied to be the obscure character "Terry Boot".

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* While it already had {{Foreshadowing}}, the chubby person that went by Ryota Mitarai in ''[[Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndofHopesPeakHighSchool Danganronpa 3 The End of Hope's Peak High School - Side: Despair]]'' is not the real one. It's actually the Ultimate Imposter, who was asked by the real Ryota Mitarai to take his place since he was too busy animating.
* Norn Mikihara from ''Manga/DigimonNext'' is revealed to be the human form of Yggdrasill, the God of the Digital World (or close to that).
* In the ''Literature/FateZero'' anime, the metafictional "Einzbern Consultation Room" shorts feature a GenkiGirl named Zecchan, who ''somehow'' gets pulled into the Grail and becomes friends with Irisviel. She's a time-traveling, amnesiac [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Taiga Fujimura]].
* A three-way example occurs in ''Anime/FinalFantasyUnlimited''. The BigBad Earl Tyrant and the protagonists Ai and Yu are revealed to be avatars of recurring ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' villain Chaos.
* In the ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' manga, ''Nibelung no Hokan'', Garon appoint a particular violent man to interrogate prisoners. Said man is said to be a noble from Cheve but it is heavily implied that he's actually Hans in disguise.
* ''Anime/FLCLProgressiveAndAlternative'' features a stoic but {{Motor Mouth}}ed teacher with OpaqueNerdGlasses in the first episode, who's also featured in trailers for the series. The FirstEpisodeTwist is that she's a disguised Haruko. There's also a semi-example in Jinyu, who turns out to be a LiteralSplitPersonality of Haruko. Also PlayedWith: a character who seems to be Amarao is actually his son.
* ''[[Videogame/FZero F-Zero Falcon Densetsu]]'' introduces two new characters, Bart Lemming and Roy Hughes, who eventually turn out to be the anime versions of Captain Falcon and Mighty Gazelle, respectively.
* ''Manga/GetterRobo'':
** One of the new pilots in ''Armageddon'' is Benkei's ActionGirl daughter, a tomboyish young woman named Kei Kuruma. It's eventually revealed that Kei is actually a [[ShesAllGrownUp Grown Up]] and {{Gender Flip}}ped version of Genki, Professor Saotome's son from the original series; Benkei went from Genki's BigBrotherMentor to Kei's ParentalSubstitute.
** ''Getter Robo Devolution'' inverts this, then plays it straight. Musashi admits that he isn't actually the real one, who had been DeadAllAlong since childbirth, but he later discovers that his true identity is Benkei.
* This happens from time to time in [[Manga/TheLegendOfZelda the manga adaptations]] of ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''.
** In ''[[Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaAkiraHimekawa A Link to the Past]]'', the bandit girl Ghanti [[OneWingedAngel transforms]] into a boss from the game, Trinexx.
** In ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords2004'', Link's father is temporarily brainwashed by Vaati and is revealed to guard the green Royal Jewel, making him the manga's version of the Green Knight.
** An inanimate example occurs in ''[[Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaAkiraHimekawa Oracle of Ages]]''. Roperi's bonsai plant turns out to be a Mystery Tree, allowing Link to take the seed and use it against Veran.
* The ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'' prequel series ''Adventures of Sinbad'':
** Ja'far's name is not mentioned, nor is his face fully seen, until the end of his redemption arc. Then again, he's clearly an albino with YouthfulFreckles, so one wonders if this was even supposed to be a secret.
** A straighter example is Harun, the merchant who cheats and then mentors Sinbad, who turns out to be Alibaba's father, [[KingIncognito King Rashid of Balbadd]].
* Tory/Tohru Froid from ''Anime/MegaManNTWarrior'' seemed to be an CanonForeigner, but it turns out he's the son of [=IceMan.EXE=]'s Net Op in the games, who was only seen as a generic child sprite. He ended up being a AscendedExtra...until he was DemotedToExtra after Axess.
* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
** When Ash and his companions reach Cinnabar Island they meet a long-haired local who gives them indications to reach his inn in case they don't find one. Near the end of the episode, it's revealed that the man was wearing a wig and he was actually Blaine, the Gym Leader of Cinnabar Island.
** An interesting play of this can be with the mysterious man with a Persian whom Team Rocket speak with in ''Battle Aboard the St. Anne'', who is always shadowed. While people can assume who he is, in ''The Battle Of The Badge'' it's revealed the man is Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket.
** In the above mentioned episode, Giovanni uses an armor-cladded Pokémon capable of using Psychic-type moves. Its name, however, is never revealed. Only in the film it's revealed that the Pokémon is actually Mewtwo.
** ''Anime/Pokemon4Ever'' has an in-continuity example where it's revealed that Sam, the mysterious young boy Ash and the gang befriended over the course of the movie, is the younger version of Professor Oak.
* ''Anime/PrettyCure'':
** ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureMaxHeart'' introduces Baldez, the leader of the Four Guardians and main antagonist. Only at the end of the anime, it's revealed that he's actually the spirit of the Dark King himself.
*** Same goes for Hikari, who is revealed to be the life of the Queen.
** An interesting form of this trope is with Wolfrun, Akaoni and Majorina from ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'', who are clearly based on antagonists from fairy tales. Towards the end of the anime, however, it's revealed the three were inhabitants of Märchenland, where fairy tales characters actually live. That makes them the ''actual'' antagonists of said stories (Wolfrun being the wolf from Red Riding Hood, Akaoni being the oni from Momotaro and Majorina being the recurring witch in various tales).
* The 2007 ''Manga/SkullMan'' anime features a case where a character is revealed to be ''[[CompositeCharacter two]]'' Creator/ShotaroIshinomori characters. Protagonist Hayato Mikogami turns out to be an orphaned Tatsuo Kagura, right before becoming the Skull Man. At the end of the anime however he gets possessed by the Skull Man suit and remodeled into Skull, the BigBad of ''Manga/Cyborg009''.
* The final episode of ''Anime/TaktOpDestiny'' reveals Anna Schneider to be the game's equivalent to Destiny.

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''The Dead Man'' appeared in ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' featuring a burnt amnesiac being left for dead and subsequently heading off to find out who he is. He discovers that he's ComicBook/JudgeDredd who had taken the Long Walk and was attacked by the Sisters Of Death. To keep the secret, ''Dredd'' strips were still run concurrently and the ''Dead Man'' story was credited to [[PenName Keef Ripley]]. ''ComicBook/LobsterRandom'' and ''ComicBook/SinisterDexter'' homaged this storyline using similar techniques.
* In ''ComicBook/ActionComicsNew52'', Clark's landlady is an elderly woman named Mrs Nyxly, who says her husband was a stage magician before a rival put him in a coma. She also mentions that his trademark was a purple derby hat. Yes, she's actually the New 52 version of Mr Mxyzpltk's girlfriend Miss Gsptlnz, now given the full name Nyxlygsptlnz.
* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'''s Malcolm Merlyn/the Dark Archer was always established as the Arrowverse counterpart of Arthur King/Merlyn the Archer. However, the comic spin-off ''The Dark Archer'' establishes that his real name was actually Arthur King all along.
* In ''Batman: Urban Legends'' #5, a Batgirls story features a new "wildcard" character of unclear allegiance, who turns out to be a young African-American woman. At the end of the story, with the Batgirls still unclear on who she is or what her agenda is, the last panel shows her standing in front of a camper van with a potted plant in the window, and "Ryan Was Here" graffitied on the wall behind her, all indicating that she's a CanonImmigrant version of [[Series/{{Batwoman}} Ryan Wilder]].
* A Marvel miniseries called ''Battle Scars'' (an epilogue to ''ComicBook/FearItself'') introduced a black Marine named Marcus Johnson and his war buddy nicknamed "Cheese". The event eventually revealed that Marcus is the son of ComicBook/NickFury and therefore the mainstream continuity's equivalent of the Creator/SamuelLJackson-style Fury introduced in ComicBook/UltimateMarvel and popularized by the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse; and that Cheese is Phil Coulson (also from the MCU).
* In alternate universe tale ''ComicBook/CaptainCarter'', it swiftly becomes clear that the British government is corrupt. It's not until much later in the story that the real identity of Prime Minister Harry Williams is uncovered - he's actually the vampire John Falsworth, better known in the main Franchise/MarvelUniverse as villain Baron Blood.
* In the 2018 ''Comicbook/{{Catwoman}}'' series, Selina encounters and befriends a group of homeless teen runaways who live in her old neighborhood of Alleytown. One of the kids is an Asian pickpocket known only as Shoes, who initially seems to be a new character like the others. However, the ''DC Festival of Heroes'' one-shot reveals she's an amnesiac Lian Harper, the daughter of Roy Harper and Cheshire, who was previously thought to have been {{RetGone}}d out of existence by the Comicbook/{{New 52}} reboot.
* ''ComicBook/Exiles2018'' introduced among new characters Becky Barnes, a gay [[GenderFlip female]] version of Comicbook/BuckyBarnes from a reality where [[Characters/CaptainAmericaSupportingCharacters Peggy Carter]] is Captain America. ''ComicBook/FutureFoundation'' would later reveal that Becky is actually one of the reincarnations of Rikki Barnes, a preexisting heroine from [[ComicBook/HeroesReborn a different world]] who has been dying and being reborn as vaguely similar characters across the multiverse.
* ''ComicBook/GIJoeDevilsDue'' did this with the nameless S.A.W. Viper who killed Quick Kick, Doc, Heavy Metal, Thunder and Crankcase back in [[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel the original Marvel comic]] when he returned and was revealed to have survived Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's attempt at killing him. The S.A.W. Viper's actual name is given as Robert Skelton, but he ends up taking on the codename Overkill, a name belonging to a Cobra cyborg whose only prior appearances in any ''G.I. Joe'' fiction were in the [=DiC=] continuation of ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero''. To seal the deal, the Overkill of the Devil's Due continuity is eventually made into a cyborg himself.
* Near the end of ''ComicBook/GIJoe2019'', Dr. Mindbender is shown to have a female assistant who questions his decisions. As the story goes on, it is revealed that she is affiliated with G.I. Joe and is infiltrating Cobra as TheMole, in addition to being in a relationship with Frontier (this continuity's interpretation of Flint). To remove any remaining doubts of her true identity, the last panel of the issue has Frontier identity her as Lady Jaye.
* ''ComicBook/GothamAcademy'' Annual does this twice. The series likes to make teachers share similar names and be lookalikes to DCAU versions of Batman villains, without ever confirming outright if they're those villains or not. One of the main cast members ropes a young redheaded boy named Warren into being his errand boy. In the Annual mysterious new teacher Derek Powers turns out to actually ''be'' Derek "Blight" Powers from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' who traveled back in time to kill Warren, last name [=McGinnis=] - he's going to grow up to become the father of future Batman, Terry [=McGinnis=].
* ''ComicBook/HasbroComicUniverse'':
** ''ComicBook/TheTransformersSinsOfTheWreckers'':
*** The story is all about the titular team trying to track down Prowl, who has been kidnapped by an old colleague of questionable stability named Mesothulas. When he and Prowl actually talk face to face for the first time, Mesothulas is revealed to be the IDW incarnation of [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Tarantulas]].
*** This trope comes into play again with Ostaros, a mute bot with an indestructible spark that Mesothulas created. The final issue reveals that Prowl spared Ostaros and gave him a new life as Springer, something Springer himself was unaware of.
** Multiple instances of this trope occur in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'':
*** After getting captured by Chief Justice Tyrest, some of the crew share a prison cell with a new character named Minimus Ambus, who shows some familiar quirks. Rung eventually figures out that he is none other than Ultra Magnus, who was secretly a much smaller bot in PoweredArmor (as well as a LegacyCharacter) all this time. Ratchet had figured this out, but no one else knew.
*** Another seemingly new character is the Senator who was a friend of a young Optimus Prime and helped him along in his career. His identity is deliberately obscured, with his name never being uttered on page, and frequently changing his color scheme out of vanity (although at one point, his color scheme bears a strong resemblance to [[RedHerring Ultra Magnus]] (this appearance came before the above mentioned Minimus Ambus reveal)). The final twist of his storyline reveals that after being brainwashed and deformed, he became the famously emotionless Decepticon scientist Shockwave.
*** Subverted with Tarn, who was foreshadowed as secretly being Optimus' old friend [[RedHerring Roller]], who went missing many years ago...only to have Roller turn up intact just before TheReveal that Tarn was actually a minor character introduced in this series named Glitch.
*** Subverted again with The Grand Architect. After being set up as a shadowy figure, he seems to finally be revealed as Scorponok!...Only to have it turn out later that Scorponok and the Architect are not the same being, and Scorponok merely works for him. The actual identity of the Grand Architect is eventually revealed to be [[PhysicalGod Adaptus]] (an original comic character) possessing the body of [[MadDoctor Pharma]] (another comic original).
*** The character Rung appeared to be an original character made for the comic. However throughout the book we've gotten hints that there's far more than meets the eye ([[TitleDrop hah]]) with him, and near the end of the series it's revealed that he's actually the IDW incarnation of ''[[PhysicalGod Primus]]''!
** Issue #0 of ''ComicBook/Revolution2016'' features [[Franchise/GIJoe Joe Colton and Scarlett]] talking to one of the former's old friends, who throughout the issue is [[FaceFramedInShadow kept in the shadows]] and referred to only by his surname, Manheim. The end of the issue reveals him to be none other than Miles Mayhem, the main antagonist of ''WesternAnimation/{{MASK}}''. He is later established to [[CompositeCharacter have also been]] the "Sea Adventurer" from the original ''G.I.Joe'' toyline.
** ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'':
*** A member of the Earth Defense Command named Ayana Jones is revealed during the events of the ''ComicBook/Revolution2016'' crossover to be a G.I. Joe operative codenamed [[WesternAnimation/GIJoeExtreme Mayday]].
*** Arguably the biggest one of the entire IDW continuity occurs during "The Falling" arc of ''Optimus Prime'', in which GreaterScopeVillain Onyx Prime was revealed to be a NotQuiteDead Shockwave, who had been sent back in time following the events of ''ComicBook/DarkCybertron'' and had taken TheSlowPath while manipulating the course of Cybertronian history as part of an [[StableTimeLoop ontological time paradox]].
* The Swordsman seen in ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'' had nothing to do with Jacques Duquesne or Philip Javert. When the world was revisited in the ''Heroes Reborn: Remnants'' one-shot, it was revealed he was his Earth's version of ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}.
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' has a history of red herrings on this.
** When the mysterious "Reflecto" appeared and focused mainly on protecting Phantom Girl, the covers hinted that he was really her long-missing lover Ultra-Boy. But once unmasked, it was Superboy.
** New member Sensor Girl wears a mask, and revealed her identity only to Saturn Girl. [[note]]Might as well, since the latter is a telepath[[/note]]. Various clues lead Brainic 5 to conclude that Sensor Girl was in fact ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, returned from the dead. But once unmasked, it was Projectra, returned to our dimension.
* The main character of Creator/DynamiteComics' MassiveMultiplayerCrossover ''Legenderry'' is Magda, sister to ComicBook/RedSonja, who is being pursued by the villains for unknown reasons as she searches for her sister. It turns out she's Sonja herself, who was given FalseMemories by the villains a year earlier to make her more tractable.
* ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures ComicBook/SpiderMan'' #57 opens with Spidey being attacked by a mysterious new villainess called the Silencer. Halfway through the issue, it's discovered that the Silencer is actually ComicBook/EmmaFrost, who joined the book's supporting cast several issues prior.
* ''Marvels X'' stars a new character named David Jarrett, a young boy who has seemingly failed to develop superpowers despite being exposed to the [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Terrigen Mist]]. In the final issue, David is killed in battle while helping Captain America, and his body is buried. However, Nighthawk then digs up the coffin to reveal that David is alive and well, explaining that the Terrigen gas actually gave him ResurrectiveImmortality in the form of a powerful HealingFactor. The final pages then jump forward into the future, revealing that David eventually grows up to become the mysterious new ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} (whose identity was never revealed) from the original ''ComicBook/EarthX''.
* The recurring villain Xander Payne from ''ComicBook/MegaManArchieComics'' eventually takes the identity of Mr. X, the DiscOneFinalBoss of ''VideoGame/MegaMan6''.
* ''WesternAnimation/MegaManFullyCharged''
** The comic book adaptation reveals that the real Dr. Wily from the video games exists in the series, and is the grandfather of the seemingly-unrelated Burt Wily. Moreover, he's also been Dr. Light's rival since their falling out as colleagues.
** From the same comic, halfway through the series, Suna takes up the conflict under a new alias to help Mega Man: [[VideoGame/MegaManX Zero]].
* Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}'' Retconned the original 50s adventures as dreams induced via LotusEaterMachine. However one part of those stories is true. The main bad guy of the original comics, and the man behind the curtain of the Miracleman project is Dr. Emil Gargunza.
* In the ''ComicBook/New52'' version of ''ComicBook/SecretSix'', only Catman and Black Alice return from the previous continuity. Strix and the new Ventriloquist come from ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'' and Porcelain and Big Shot appear to be entirely original. Over the first few issues it's established that Big Shot is a PrivateInvestigator, has [[RubberMan the ability to expand in size and a rubbery face]], is obsessed with his late wife, and has a sensitive nose. Oh, and Mockingbird calls him "Mr Dibney". It is later revealed that he is, indeed, the world-famous ComicBook/ElongatedMan.
* Creator/GrantMorrison's ''ComicBook/NewXMen'' run featured a bunch of new characters, with the most prominent being the Chinese Buddhist Xorn. Then in the twist near the end, it turns out that Xorn was ComicBook/{{Magneto}} in disguise the whole time. Since this version of Magneto was a genocidal junkie (and by the end of the run, was thoroughly dead), the controversy was enough that Marvel's editors decided to retcon Xorn into not being the true Magneto the instant Grant Morrison left. Professor X went to Genosha to bury Magneto and found...Magneto. Excalibur Genosha begins, the HoYay between the two as they lead the new team in saving what's left of Genosha skyrockets, and in ''that'' title, Xorn is never brought up again. However, in the other books, who Xorn ''really'' was rapidly became a ContinuitySnarl, most infamously being twin brothers with similar names (Shen Xorn and Kuan-Yin Xorn).
* ''ComicBook/{{Powerless}}'' takes place in an alternate, more realistic version of the Marvel Universe, and stars non-powered versions of [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]], [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} Logan]] and [[ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} Matt Murdock]]. The central viewpoint character, however, is a psychiatrist named William Watts, who somehow remembers the mainline Marvel Universe where those three characters are costumed superheroes. How he knows this isn't explained until the very end of the series, where, after an [[ImportantHaircut Important Shave]], William looks into his bathroom mirror and sees [[TheWatcher Uatu the Watcher]] staring back at him.
* ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'':
** In the one-shot comic ''The Cell'', Frank menaces imprisoned members of the Drago mafia family for an unknown reason. At the end, it's revealed that the Drago is an AdaptationNameChange for the Costa family: i.e., the mafia family that [[YouKilledMyFather killed Frank's family]].
** The Heavy from "Girls in White Dresses" turned out to be the series' version of Punisher's {{archenemy}} Jigsaw.
* ''ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}}'': Tim ends up tracking down an apparent new female vigilante wearing purple and thinks he sees Spoiler, only to discover he's tracking a new player who goes by Violet, only then to discover someone wearing the Spoiler costume is ''also'' tracking Violet. He's furious at the stranger behind the mask for dressing up as his beloved deceased girlfriend, disrespecting her memory and messing with him but then learns it actually is Stephanie, whose death was retconned to have been faked in this storyline.
* ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'': Boomerang gets a girlfriend, who remains a nameless side character until the final issue reveals that we've seen her before. She's Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, and she hooked up with Boomerang to steal the {{Macguffin}} he was after.
* In Creator/DonnyCates's ''ComicBook/{{Thanos}}'' run, we're introduced to Cosmic Ghost Rider, a wacky cosmic variant of ComicBook/GhostRider. His personality and design doesn't match up with any of the previous Ghost Riders, so he seems to be a new character. Thanos eventually asks if they know each other, since the Rider seems oddly familiar. Realizing he forgot to introduce himself, the Rider sticks out his hand and says his name: [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Frank Castle]].
* ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIDW'': Arnold Jones at first appeared to simply be Casey's deadbeat alcoholic dad, up until one of his bar buddies addresses him by his old gang nickname, Hun, revealing him to be the series' take on the Purple Dragons' leader. Doubles as a CompositeCharacter, as in the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 2003 series]], Arnold is killed by Hun after standing up to him and his gang.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'': The ''Secrets and Lies'' miniseries (published by Creator/IDWPublishing, but taking place in the same continuity as the Marvel Comics series) has a weird variation: established, but absent from the original run characters Fastlane and Cloudraker crash on Earth in England, getting involved in a viking raid and heavily damaged to the point of unrecognisability, becoming the Man of Iron from his eponymous story and the [[ReusedCharacterDesign identical looking]] navigator from the same.
* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'':
** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''
*** One issue has ComicBook/NickFury going undercover to infiltrate ComicBook/{{HYDRA}}, where he befriends a deeply conflicted young henchwoman called "Nails." In the following issue, he's able to convince Nails to defect from HYDRA and join the Howling Commandos, and asks her what her real name is. She turns out to be the Ultimate version of Abigail Brand, a character from the ''ComicBook/XMen'' comic books.
*** A throwaway line from Kleiser in the first arc confirms that the shapeshifting Chitauri are in fact the Ultimate versions of the Skrulls, the word being one of the many names the race had been given over their centuries of interdimensional conquest. Note that the Skrulls were adapted later on in ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour''.
** When [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] was first created by Creator/StanLee and Creator/JackKirby, he had two identities: he was the human doctor Donald Blake, and could turn into Thor ByThePowerOfGrayskull. When remade for ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'', Thor is just Thor. Blake appears, as an unrelated person, in ''ComicBook/UltimateThor''. As seen later, Donald Blake is still the human identity of a god, but in this case it's Balder the Brave.
** ''ComicBook/AllNewUltimates'': The comic features a gang war, opposed by the Ultimates in the superhero way, and a police unit the standard way. This police unit would eventually become Terror Inc. (an obscure 1988 comic book).
* ''ComicBook/WayOfX'' features someone the children of Krakoa call the Patchwork Man, who runs around the island toying with the minds of the mutants living on it. After Legion is brought in and gets a crack at him, it's revealed the Patchwork Man is in fact the universally-feared longtime X-men foe Onslaught.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman77 Meets Series/TheBionicWoman'' reveals that Carolyn Hamilton, who appeared in one episode of ''Series/WonderWoman1975'', has gone on to become the TV-verse counterpart of ComicBook/{{Nubia}}. In addition, the one-shot series villain Gloria Vasquez has become Dr Cyber.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/MCURewrites'': In ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/6461902 Age of Ultron: Redux]]'', Pietro and Wanda Maximoff's father seems to be SparedByTheAdaptation from ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' as the twins' mother raised them on her own and he was not present when the Maximoff's house was destroyed by a missile from Stark Industries. In ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/11613867 New Avengers]]'', Wanda tells Vision about how she and Pietro were found by a man who could do some parlor tricks such as setting down a cigarette lighter and that it could not be picked up not matter how hard someone tried and making a coin float. The man takes the two children to a Jewish family to raise them. The final scene of the story has an unknown man, who goes unnoticed by everyone attending except Wanda, visiting Pietro's grave and he is wearing a ring with an "M" on it, with an author's note confirming that Pietro and Wanda's father is ComicBook/{{Magneto}}.
* ''WebVideo/TheLegendOfZeldaTheSageOfDarkness''.
** Link's father is a PosthumousCharacter, but he is resurrected near the climax of the film as Dark Link.
** Inverted with the main antagonist, the Skull Kid, who's revealed to be the alter ego of the [[EvilAllAlong seemingly friendly and helpful]] new character Davik.
* Inverted in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/8491420 We Are the Chatroom Gems.]]'' Ms. Agate, one of the teachers from the first chapter, is revealed by [[https://ask-the-chatroom-gems.tumblr.com/ the ask blog]] to ''not'' be Holly Blue Agate, but rather her sister.
* The ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' fanmade novelized adaptation titled ''Fanfic/BreathOfTheWild'' features a sand seal named Kali. She's mainly featured the "Naboris" arc as the sand seal Link rides to battle Naboris itself. The only things notable about her is her [[PinkIsFeminine pink color]] and her immediate affection towards Link. She's revealed to be Epona's reincarnation in a sand seal form, and Zelda returns her to her natural horse form so that she may once again act as Link's loyal battle steed against Ganon.
* ''Fanfic/RubyAndNora'' features an {{expy}} of the [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight Arkham Knight]] named Skull who is later revealed to be Mercury Black.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}}: The Day the Earth Stood Still'', George Little gives Tom a few hints about his identity in chapter 2 -- he used to work for the National Security Agency, he lived in the same town as the Animorphs when he and his wife got infested, and their son has been missing ever since -- then at the end, he drops a bombshell: his son's name is David. [[DramaticIrony This means nothing to Tom]], but many readers were thrown for a loop when they realised Tom was talking to a certain SixthRangerTraitor's father.
* ''Fanfic/FallOfStarfleetRebirthOfFriendship'': A few characters (whether Creator/DakariKingMykan's "{{Original Character}}s" or seemingly new characters by the author Creator/{{Legendbringer}}) are revealed to be characters who exist in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''.
** Early in the story it is revealed that [[LivingStatue Goldwin]] is actually [[GodOfChaos Discord]] in disguise.
** Beast Boy, one of the Unicornicopians brought in to replace members of Lightning's team, is revealed to be Thorax not long after his introduction.
** The Dark King and his followers (Giant, Demon, Ogre, Alien, and Bad Horse) are [[CerebusRetcon retconned]] into being the BadFuture [[FallenHero counterparts]] to Shining Armor, Big [=MacIntosh=], Pound Cake, Zephyr Breeze, Sweetie Belle, and Soarin, respectively.
** The Necromancer, Dark Conquest's backer, is revealed to be Grogar, one of the most iconic villains from G1 ''My Little Pony''.
** Inverted with [[TerribleTrio Dementia, Mysterious, Rep-Stallion]] who are revealed to be entirely new characters Galaxia Shine, Blackened Myst, and Swift Blade before becoming Titan's minions.
** Also inverted with [[BigBad Lord Titan]] who is revealed to be King Titan, the father of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' fanfic ''FanFic/{{TITANOMACH}}'' sees protagonist Valentin Kozhukov revealed to be the Speaker. His friend, Fang Sov, is subtly implied to be the future Drifter.
* In the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' fangame ''VideoGame/PokemonZetaAndOmicron'', the main antagonist, Odin (in Zeta) or Zeus (in Omicron) is revealed to be [[FallenHero The protagonist of]] ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', who had his Lugia (in Zeta) or his Ho-Oh (in Omicron) turned into a [[TheHeartless Shadow Pokemon]] and stolen from him by your EvilTwin, and [[FaceHeelTurn turned evil]] in an effort to gain enough power to take it back.
* In the ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' x ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' crossover fanfic ''FanFic/AChangeOfPace'', The Bone Carver, an antagonist who becomes Taylor's rival and is also marked by the Outsider, is Trevor, the character who would become Chariot in the source story.
* In the ''Franchise/DeathNote'' fanfic ''Fanfic/SecondChances'', L is haunted by a shinigami named Rae in the afterlife who's attempting to tempt him into using a Death Note. Rae turns out to be Light Yagami, L's archenemy.
* The short ''Film/TheAvengers2012'' story ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/847207/chapters/1618425 Exclusive]]'' has a reporter come in to look in on the daily lives of the Avengers living in Stark Tower. The last few lines reveal that the reporter is actually [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]].
* A retroactive example happens in the ''FanFic/BrideOfDiscord'' "verse", where Red Shoes, an OC who goes on to marry Pinkie Pie, is revealed to be Cheese Sandwich using a fake identity to avoid his ex-marefriend, whom he thinks is out to get him, after said character was introduced in [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic the show proper]] and the creator began to ship him with Pinkie.
* In the ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Cultstuck}}'', the titular cult is lead by a ReallySevenHundredYearsOld man known as the Grand Elder, who in turn is advised by his friend, a rarely-seen "outsider" known as the Messenger. Only when the two finally meet in-story and address each other with their AlternateUniverse's selves' given names does it become clear that the Grand Elder is Expatriate Darkleer, who predates the cult, and the Messenger is Grandpa Harley, a human with a teleporter.
* ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' has two characters who are revealed, though not named, by Sabrina as being people Ash had met in the anime before time reset: his father and the Bloodliner King. The same character.
* ''FanFic/QueenOfBloodSirWill'': Neptune is not a Case 53, he's a projection created by Danny Hebert after he triggered by trying to drown himself, with Danny himself being unaware of the connection.
* ''Fanfic/WormMoreThanMeetsTheEye'': Multiplayer a cape working with Uber and Leet with MesACrowd powers turns out to be Spree of the Teeth.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Goldstein}},'' the epilogue of Year One reveals that Rabbi Zeller's daughter Shoshana[[note]]A name which means "Rose"[[/note]] is a witch, implying that she is Rose Zeller, a [[OCStandIn very minor]] character from the books.
* In the first ''Fanfic/HalloweenUnspectacular'', we're introduce to HumanoidAbomination [=ReGenesis=], a government science project that [[WesternAnimation/InvaderZim Professor Membrane]], among others, worked on. We never get a description of it until the last chapter, when Zim recognizes him as a newly-empowered [[TheDogBitesBack Dib]]. This throws his world-destroying rampage into a new light and turns Membrane's actions from morally ambiguous to absolutely ''[[AbusiveParents despicable]]''.
* The second episode of ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'' featured Jeffrey, a NightmareFuelStationAttendant comic relief character who believed that Jesus was ordering him to kill people. By the sixth episode, he returns as the founder of the Laughing Coffin guild, wearing a cloak and carrying a cleaver, revealing himself to be the show's version of [=PoH=].
* In ''Fanfic/Earth27'', Ambush Bug learns from reading the manual that [[CreatorCameo Doctor Roy Westerman of Arkham Asylum]] is one. [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial Not the Monitor! That would just be silly.]]
** Em Parker, a prominent [[OriginalCharacter Artifact]], is revealed to be Rose Walker, a major supporting character from ''ComicBook/TheSandman''.
** The Thaumaturgist is revealed to be [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} Victor Frankenstein]], and one of his identities was T.O. Morrow.
** Random Sons of Batman trainees Don Jones and Rob Smith are revealed to be the human selves of mutants Bebop and Rocksteady.
* In the crossover fanfic ''[[FanFic/TheDarkLordsOfNerima The Dark Lords Ascendant]]'', Manga/SailorMoon and the Senshi face off against CorruptCorporateExecutive Tanizaki, who wishes to claim Sailor Moon's powers for himself, and is revealed as the reason the Great Freeze would have happened had he targeted Endymion's Golden Crystal first. In the FinalBattle against his organization, Manga/{{Ranma|OneHalf}} figures out that since Tanizaki was TheUnfettered, he wouldn't have given up his goal for power when the Great Freeze happened. Remembering that Tanazaki's company was working on spacecraft that could traverse the solar system, Ranma realized in the original timeline that Tanazaki fled the frozen Earth to the planet Nemesis so he could claim the power there, only to become the Death Phantom, one of the canonical {{Arc Villain}}s of ''Sailor Moon''.
* The DistantFinale of ''Fanfic/{{Eugenesis}}'' is narrated by an unnamed cultist embarking on a mission to assassinate Rodimus. Throughout the story, the cultist finds himself [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder repeatedly backstabbing various factions]] and growing disillusioned with his cult until he finally quits and joins a Decepticon-revivalist movement. As he departs from their hideout, his recruiters remark that the little cultist is remarkably smart and will fit in well in their new movement. One of them asks what the cultist's name was again. Their leader says his name is "[[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Tarantulas]]".
* In the fangame ''VideoGame/HyruleConquest'', a character named Bongo is introduced as the leader of the Yiga Clan. After she is decapitated and her body becomes the host for Dethl, she mutates into the monster Bongo Bongo from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''.
* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/948828 Sacrifices]]'' introduces a seemingly OriginalCharacter with the initials of A.L. who happens to have a grudge against [[WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays Zak Saturday]]. Eventually, it's revealed that A.L. is really [[KnightTemplar Arthur Beeman]], who still believes that he needs to kill Zak to ensure Kur can't destroy humanity as well being really pissed about his expulsion from the Circle of Secret Scientists due to the his previous attempt at killing Zak.
* ''Fanfic/TheManyDatesOfDannyFenton'':
** In the ''After Many Dates: [[WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom Danny]] and [[WesternAnimation/KimPossible Kim]]'' storyline, the heroes are plagued by a mysterious new villain named Thanatos who seems hell-bent on ruining Danny's life and killing everyone he loves, including Kim. It soon turns out he has a very good reason for why he's hurting Danny, he ''has'' to. After all, he's Dark Danny, a popular villain of the series from ''WesternAnimation/TheUltimateEnemy'', who needs Danny's life to be ruined in order to exist
** In the ''After Many Dates: Danny and [[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Gwen]]'' storyline, the two meet a trio of troublemakers named Vivian Hayley Smithee, Donald Commerce and Thad Rash. After getting arrested thanks to Danny Phantom twice, Vlad decides to use his partnership with Vilgax to his advantage on the three. He arms them with tech and gives them the respective codenames of Vid, Download, and Thrash, revealing they're actually the Masters' Blasters, a group of ghost hunters assembled by Vlad in the final episode of the series who never had their real names revealed.
* In Chapter Four of ''Fanfic/ToCatchARaven'', Raven meets Jinx's peer, Sebastian Crawford. Sebastian is actually Red-X.
* There are a few examples in [[https://www.deviantart.com/evilgidgit/art/Reimagining-Digimon-Adventure-Tri-Part-I-762598497 this]] [[https://www.deviantart.com/evilgidgit/art/Reimagining-Digimon-Adventure-Tri-Part-II-762602037 rewrite]] of ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'':
** Dark Gennai [[AdaptationDeviation is changed from a shapeshifter]] [[ShapeshifterDefaultForm whose default form resembles Gennai]] to the actual Gennai but [[DemonicPossession possessed by Piedmon]], leader of the Dark Masters, who escaped [=MagnaAngemon's=] Gate of Destiny in the original ''Anime/DigimonAdventure''.
** [[MysteriousWatcher Hackmon]] [[AdaptationExpansion is given a backstory]] in that he's revealed to be [[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 Yukio Oikawa]] [[EmergencyTransformation who was transformed into a Digimon by Homeostasis in order to survive the Digital World rebooting]].
* Pandora [=McGonagall=] from ''Fanfic/ThePeaceNotPromised'' is a CompositeCharacter variation. Initially, she appears to just be Professor [=McGonagall=]'s niece, but it later turns out that she's actually a younger version of Luna Lovegood's mother.
* ''Fanfic/KitsuneNoKenFistOfTheFox'' has the aspiring SerialKiller Spiral Reaper, [[AdaptationalVillainy who turns about to be]] Yamato.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13504008/5/Conduit-of-Central-City Conduit of Central City]]'', Cole encounters a young girl with [[PowerIncontinence powerful yet unstable psychic powers]]. When finding out that she doesn't even have a real name, Cole decides to use Number-Letter association based on the first three numbers of her [[YouAreNumber6 Subject Identification]], nicknaming her Ace, making her this fic's version of the [[Franchise/DcAnimatedUniverse DCAU]] Ace.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13715296/1/A-Vampire-in-Love A Vampire in Love]]'', a crossover with ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' and ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheGhoulSchool'', Revolta is forced to seek help after Danny Phantom's involvement destroys her castle and renders her unable to pose a threat to get the Grimwood girls. She's forced to recruit her brother, Repulso, a seemingly new character. She imprisoned him due to how dangerous he is and goes to free him from his prison, her mirror. He's the mirror monster who temporarily replaced Shaggy in the film, albeit forced into that state due to Revolta's magic.
* In ''Fanfic/TheVictorsProject'', District 11's first Victor, Orchus, runs away from the district years after his victory and lives in the woods for several years. Once he returns no one recognizes him, and he lives anonymously on District 11 for the rest of his life, which comes to an end when he gives the three-finger salute at Katniss and Peeta's Victory tour and is subsequently executed.
* Happens twice in ''Fanfic/CindersAndAshesTheChroniclesOfKamenRiderDante''.
** Hoshi is friends with a ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' nerd by the name of Akagi. By the end of the first act, it's revealed that he is Akagi Nobuo from ''Series/HikoninSentaiAkibaranger'', brought forth to Hoshi's world by his Creator.
** An {{inverted|trope}} version of this happens with Shimashima. In the [[Anime/ReCREATORS canon]], Shimashima was mentioned once in a flashback by Setsuna and never appeared in the show. Thanks in part to a mixture of OCStandIn and AscendedExtra, Shimashima ends up taking a ''much'' larger role before eventually being revealed to be Yuusuke Shimazaki, an original character who was Setsuna's father.
* In ''Fanfic/BlackStar'', [[VideoGame/Persona5 the Phantom Thieves]] fight against [[GreaterScopeVillain Hastur]], [[AnthropomorphicPersonification a manifestation of humanity's fear of an unknown future]] after [[CorruptPolitician Shido's]] change of heart and [[DarkMessiah Yaldabaoth]]'s defeat in the main game. Hastur bears many {{s|uspiciouslySimilarSubstitute}}imilarities to [[VideoGame/Persona2 Nyarlathotep]], from their [[InYourNatureToDestroyYourselves views on humanity]] right down to having the same {{Catchphrase}} ("That's a contradiction."/"You contradict yourself.") [[WordOfGod The author]] has confirmed that Hastur is in fact Nyarlathotep under a different alias, who had managed to return from his banishment at the end of the second game due to humanity's fear creating a hole in the Collective Unconscious which allowed him to escape.
* In the ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' fic "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/23532607/chapters/71554503 Playing House]]", most of the Legends are de-aged, and Leonard and Sara have to set themselves up as their "foster parents" in the present day while they look for the witch responsible. They run into trouble when they need to be vetted by a social worker named Nelson. For most of the fic, he appears to be a regular Original Character, but in the final chapter, he is revealed to be Kent Nelson, a.k.a. the host of Doctor Fate and a former member of the JSA.
* Due the fact that Raditz is brought back to life in ''Fanfic/DragonBallZDynasty'', aside from Trunks, Raditz and Launch's children Ranch and Daikon return to the past as well to warn and help the Z-Fighters against the Androids. Except "Daikon" isn't Raditz's son; he's actually Goten using a fake name.
* ''Fanfic/SixesAndSevens'' introduces original character Emily, but the prologue implies and a later chapter confirms that she's actually this fic's version of [[ComicBook/TheInvaders Jacqueline Falsworth]].
* The crossover fic ''Fanfic/TheSecretBiographyOfDonaldDuck'' has Kay K from the ''ComicBook/DoubleDuck'' series make an appearance during Donald Duck's secret agent arc as his love interest; after [[ItMakesSenseInContext Kay narrowly survives a rocket crash and goes off the grid to become a vigilante PI]] the two of them have a brief reunion before offically breaking up. However this isn't the last time she pops up, as the final chapter reveals that Pepper from ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' was actually Kay K in disguise who infiltrated F.O.W.L. as a sleeper agent.
* In ''Fanfic/TheNutdealerExpandedUniverse'' the mysterious Shadow introduced in "Ultra Eden" is revealed in "Elated Run" to actually be Jevil.
* In ''Fanfic/WhatTomorrowBrings'', one of the Controllers who kidnapped Loren turns out to be Feriss 512, [[NamedByTheAdaptation AKA]] Tom's second Yeerk.
* TheReveal in ''Fanfic/WhereTheTruthLiesAnimorphs'' is that that "Jordan" is Tom and "Kat" is Melissa.
* In the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3338174/1/Vicious-circle Vicious Circle]]'', Starscream is sent back in time to the early days of Cybertron and meets, among others, a medic named Wiper who is brainwashed by the Quintessons. In the final chapter, it's revealed that Wiper was a young Soundwave all along.
* The ''Fanfic/JuniorOfficers'' chapter "Turning Wheels" features a little girl who meets the Octonauts and decides she wants to be one when she grows up. It's not until the end that she is revealed to be Deborah, a junior officer.
* The ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' fanfic ''Fanfic/MaFille'' introduces a young boy known as Dragon in the chapter "Field Trip". At the end of that chapter, Dragon vows he's going to become a boxer and "read every single rule there is". Fast forward to the chapter "Old-New Guy", where a now-adult Dragon returns to the WVBA, and is revealed to have been a young Aran Ryan, who is now notorious for being extremely aggressive and a cheater.
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/BeautifulMonster'' features Harriet [=DeVille=], a woman who is happily married to Betty. Initially, Harriet seems like an OriginalCharacter who's replacing Betty's canonical husband Howard. It isn't until Angelica ''calls'' her "Howard" that it's revealed that she's actually a {{Gender Flip}}ped version of him.
* In the ''VideoGame/Persona5'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/29086554 The God Complex]]'', the Phantom Thieves [[SparedByTheAdaptation (and Akechi)]] find themselves in a copy of Tokyo, with an entity telling them they must clear seven Palaces created from the twisted desires of their own numbers. As they clear the Palaces, they soon realize that the entity sounds like Dr. Maruki, the counselor from Shuijin Academy who had his own Palace. They eventually learn that Maruki has been possessed by [[BigBad Yaldaboth]], who had survived in his weakened state and seeks revenge on the Phantom Thieves.
* ''Fanfic/HeroesInForgoneDreams'': Prince Fluff brings up a pen pal a few times. Said pen pal is later revealed to be Elline.
* ''Fanfic/MortalKombatKhronicles'':
** One of the Kytin females that flee the destruction of their hive in chapter thirty, is revealed at the end to be D'vorah.
** PlayedWith in regards to Chow (Lui Kang's brother) and Kojin (Earthrealm's fire god), who are mentioned in canonicity and the latter appears in a [[VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero spinoff game]], but they never appear in a main line game. But this story reveals that they were [[spoiler: the unidentified warrior and flaming man seen in the background of The Pitt II in VideoGame/MortalKombatII]].
* In ''Fanfic/BuildYourWingsOnTheWayDown'', [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Edward Elric]] forms an IntergenerationalFriendship with a college-student named Gabby. When Maes Hughes meets her at the train station for Ed's departure, he notes he looks very familial, before realizing she looks like General Olivier Armstrong. He then realizes that "Gabby" is actually Catherine Armstrong, the youngest of the esteemed and renowned Armstrong family.

[[folder:Film — Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/JonahAVeggieTalesMovie'' features the character Khalil, a caterpillar/worm who seems to be a CanonForeigner PluckyComicRelief character. However, at the end, he is revealed to be the worm who ate the tree Jonah was using for shade. On top of that, he [[CompositeCharacter also]] delivers a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Jonah based on God's speech from [[Literature/TheBible the source material]].
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeSocietyWorldWarII'':
** Early into the film, Flash meets the JSA war correspondent Shakespeare and finds his face oddly familiar. Flash's deja vu is ultimately vindicated when during their raid on the codebreaker's prison, Shakespeare gets shot in the head three times and survives, then gives his real name: [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]].
** Even later into the film, Aquaman's Advisor is revealed to be longtime villain Psycho-Pirate.
* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndBatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' sees the Crimson Cloak turn out to be Clayface, acting under the orders of the Riddler.
* The king and queen of Far, Far Away (and {{Deuteragonist}} Fiona's parents) from ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' are revealed at the end of the second film to also have come from a fairy tale: ''Literature/TheFrogPrince'', with King Harold being the frog in question.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'': ComicBook/{{Miles|Morales}}' class watches a video where a female scientist explains the concept of {{Alternate Universe}}s. She's later shown working for Kingpin, and Peter [[CasanovaWannabe tries to charm her]] for information. A ''[[ForScience creepier]]'' comment she makes prompts him to ask for her name: Olivia Octavius, a.k.a. a {{Gender Flip}}ped ComicBook/DoctorOctopus.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGoToTheMovies'' features a major character named Jade Wilson, a movie producer who agrees to help Robin make a movie for him. Since the film's antagonist is [[ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} Slade Wilson]], fans speculated that Jade is his sister. It turns out that they're only half-right, as she's actually Slade ''[[DisguisedInDrag himself]]''.

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
* The [[Film/AttackOnTitan2015 film adaptation]] of ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' has Kubal and Shikishima, who seem to be stand-ins for the military brass and Levi Ackerman, respectively. They're eventually revealed to be the film continuity's versions of the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'':
** Miranda Tate appears to be another CanonForeigner love interest but late into the film it is revealed that it is an alias for ComicBook/TaliaAlGhul, the [[DaddysLittleVillain daughter]] of ComicBook/RasAlGhul.
** Near the end, John Blake reveals that his first name is Robin and follows Bruce's footsteps, showing that he is a CompositeCharacter of several of the {{ComicBook/Robin}}s.
* ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'':
** In ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'', the seemingly ReasonableAuthorityFigure Sir Patrick Morgan is really [[BigBad Ares]], the god of war and Diana's [[RelatedInTheAdaptation half-brother]].
** Also, in ''Wonder Woman'', one of the members of TheSquad is a Native American tracker, simply referred to as The Chief. In one scene, he hints to Diana that he has some knowledge of her supernatural origins, and may be a [[MagicalNativeAmerican supernatural being]] himself. Although it's unclear whether future films from DC will elaborate on this, the general agreement is that he's this universe's version of Apache Chief from ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'', with the uncomfortable CaptainEthnic aspects toned down.
*** WordOfGod reveals he's actually Napi, a trickster hero of Blackfoot legend and a demi-god like Diana; though this doesn't exactly discount the "Apache Chief" theory.
** In ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', Secretary of Defense Calvin Swanwick, first introduced as a general in ''Film/ManOfSteel'', is revealed as J'onn J'onzz, the ComicBook/MartianManhunter, in disguise.
** One of the new Task Force X members introduced in the opening scene of ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'' is a mysterious character known only as T.D.K., who refuses to explain what the acronym stands for. Once the Squad is engaged in a firefight, it's revealed his codename is "The Detachable Kid," making him the film's version of the obscure ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' member Arm-Fall-Off-Boy.
* At the end of ''Film/FantasyIsland2020'' Jimmy O. Yang's character Brax decides to stay on the island and become Roarke's new assistant. He also decides to go by his old nickname: "Tattoo".
* In ''Film/GhostInTheShell2017'', the Major's name is Mira Killian. Later, it's revealed that it was a false past and that her family was never killed in a terrorist bombing, and her true name is actually Motoko Kusanagi.
* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}''
** ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars'' has Monster X, who late in the movie transforms into what was until then, the only {{Kaiju}} missing from the movie: [[HijackedByGanon Ghidorah]]. Although ironically enough, Creator/{{Toho}} considers this version to be a separate character, naming him [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Kaiser/Keizer Ghidorah]], rather than King. Reportedly, Toho even went so far as to keep said kaiju's existence a secret from Japanese audiences until the movie's release in theaters, so as to make his surprise appearance at the end all the more satisfying.
** A subtler example in the American-produced ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'', when Dr. Ilene Chen shows a few pictures of her with her extended family, who seem to consist almost entirely of sets of identical twin sisters. This clues fans of the franchise in that she and her sister (who also appears in a few scenes) are this universe's version of the Shobijin fairy twins, key figures in the lore around Mothra.
* In ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'', Destro's M.A.R.S. armaments company is the main villain, but the members are the usual members of Cobra (The Baroness, Storm Shadow, Zartan, etc). The only CanonForeigner is the Doctor...or so it seems. While one might initially assume he's this version's Dr. Mindbender, The Doctor reveals in his {{Backstory}} that he ''met'' Mindbender and was mentored by him, and at the end of the film, the Doctor reveals that he is taking control of M.A.R.S. and turning it into Cobra with himself as Commander. Yes, the Doctor is Cobra Commander.
* ''Film/HouseOfTheDead'' has a WhamLine in its closing moments where the protagonist, Rudy reveals his last name: Curien, a.k.a. Dr. Curien, BigBad of the games who descended into madness and kick started the ZombieApocalypse. In fact, the entire film is essentially retroactively a StartOfDarkness for the character.
* ''Film/JamesBond'':
** The [=MI6=] field agent Eve from ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' has her last name revealed at the end to be Moneypenny.
** The villain Franz Oberhauser from ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' is revealed to be an alias of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond's old nemesis from the earlier films.
* ''Film/KamenRiderTheFirst''
** One of "Hopper's" intended victims at the start of the film is Katsuhiko Yano, who would turn up later BackFromTheDead as "Hopper 2", ie. Kamen Rider Nigo.
** The film also features a B-plot about a terminally ill couple in the hospital. Eventually, they accept Shocker's deal to save their lives, and they turn up in the climax as kaijins Cobra Man and Medusa[[note]]the latter previously a manga-only kaijin, unlike other kaijins in the film[[/note]].
* In ''Film/KamenRiderTheNext'', deceased idol Chiharu's last name is revealed to be Kazami, making her the younger sister and CynicismCatalyst ([[AdaptationNameChange originally]] Yukiko) of Shiro Kazami, alias Hopper V3/Kamen Rider V3.
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
** In ''Film/{{The Incredible Hulk|2008}}'', Martin Starr appears as a random student at Culver University who offers Bruce Banner some pizza. Nine years and fourteen movies later, he reappears in ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'', identified as Roger Harrington, one of Peter Parker's high school teachers.
** Banner's online ally "Mr. Blue", who collects samples of his blood and tries to create a cure for his condition, is revealed to be his colleague Samuel Sterns. In his last scene, he is about to be mutated into The Leader.
** In ''Film/IronMan2'', Tony saves a young boy wearing a replica of his mask from one of Vanko's drones. WordOfGod has retroactively revealed that the boy was a young [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]].
** ''Film/IronMan3'' inverts this trope. The man believed to be the Mandarin is in fact an actor named [[CanonForeigner Trevor Slattery]].
** J.A.R.V.I.S. ''becomes'' a canonical character in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' when he is converted into ComicBook/TheVision. InUniverse, he's also ''based'' on the MCU version of a canonical character, the actual [[Series/AgentCarter Edwin Jarvis]], who in this continuity is ''Howard'' Stark's butler instead of Tony's.
** Florence Kasumba was a OneSceneWonder in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' as [[ComicBook/BlackPanther T'Challa's]] intimidating [[BodyguardBabes bodyguard]]. The character [[NoNameGiven wasn't named]] initially (with the credits only calling her "Security Chief"), but the ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' movie brought her back and confirmed that she was Ayo, a prominent character from the comics.
** In ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'', Creator/{{Zendaya}} plays a high school student named Michelle. The ending of the film reveals that she prefers to be called "MJ", indicating she's the MCU's {{Expy}} of [[Characters/MarvelComicsMaryJaneWatson Mary Jane Watson]]. Made more explicit in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', which reveals that her full name is Michelle Jones-Watson.
** In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', ComicBook/{{Thanos}} and ComicBook/{{Gamora}} meet the Stonekeeper, a mysterious being who guards the Soul Stone on the distant planet Vormir. Once the Stonekeeper lifts his cloak, he's immediately recognizable as the [[NeverFoundTheBody long-missing]] ComicBook/RedSkull, banished to Vormir and cursed with immortality. Admittedly, Thanos and Gamora (and in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} and ComicBook/BlackWidow) have no way of knowing this.
** ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}''
*** The heroine's commander/mentor is never referred to by name until after she finds a major clue that indicates he is keeping an important secret from her. He's Yon-Rogg, and just as it is in the comics, he is the villain indirectly responsible for Carol getting her powers.
*** PosthumousCharacter Wendy Lawson, TheMentor to Carol when she was still on Earth, is later revealed to be a [[GenderFlip Gender Flipped]] Mar-Vell, the original ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}} from the comics.
** One interpretation of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'''s ending is that Steve was Peggy Carter's husband (previously mentioned in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'') all along. According to the writers, Steve created a StableTimeLoop by going back through the Quantum Realm after returning the Infinity Stones, and therefore was part of the timeline all along. However, according to the directors, this is not the case, and Steve created an alternate timeline instead.
** Part of the backstory established in ''Film/{{Black Widow|2021}}'' is that many years ago, the title character killed a young girl named Antonia [[CollateralDamage while trying to get to Dreykov, the child's father]]. The film's third act reveals that Antonia actually survived the explosion and was subsequently rebuilt as a cyborg assassin with the ability to copy the fighting styles of others, making her a {{Gender Flip}}ped version of Anthony Masters, a.k.a. ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}}.
* The ending of ''Film/MechanicalViolatorHakaider'' heavily implies that Michael, the angelic android who serves as TheDragon to Gurjev, is actually that continuity's version of Series/{{Kikaider}}. The video game sequel also sees [[BigBad Gurjev]] himself return as Blue Hakaider, who was a supporting villain in ''[[Series/{{Kikaider}} Kikaider 01]]''. Instead of being one of Hakaider's [[ColorCodedCharacters color-coded identical lackeys]] however he's depicted instead as an EvilCounterpart to him.
* ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'':
** ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' introduced, among the apes under Caesar, a bonobo named Koba and an orangutan named Maurice, who seemed initially to be wholly original characters. In the next movie, ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', however, Koba starts plotting against Caesar out of mistrust for the latter's willingness to coexist with humans, while Maurice serves as Caesar's primary scientific and moral advisor, establishing them as equivalent characters to, respectively, Aldo and Virgil from ''Film/BattleForThePlanetOfTheApes'', of which ''Dawn'' is more-or-less a remake.
** Caesar's infant son was unnamed in ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', but the next film, ''Film/WarForThePlanetOfTheApes'' revealed his name to be Cornelius, who was one of the chimpanzees who helped Taylor in the original ''Film/{{Planet of the Apes|1968}}'' film. A downplayed example, however, since Cornelius was [[DeadGuyJunior also]] the name of Caesar's son in ''Film/BattleForThePlanetOfTheApes''.
** The young, mute girl who the apes come across in ''War'' is later given the name "Nova" by Maurice, the same name given to Taylor's mute love interest in the original 1968 film.
* Mewtwo features heavily in ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'', with footage of scientists recently and locally studying old fossils of Mew suggesting he's a new clone created for this story. Much like the canonical Mewtwo, he is very heavily under the impression that HumansAreBastards. Nope, turns out he's the Mewtwo from Kanto 20 years ago, having already undergone his CharacterDevelopment, and the various clips through the movie were trimmed to paint him as the bad guy. This was intentional on the BigBad's part.
* ''Film/Rampage2018'': At first, Claire Wyden appears to be another human character created for the film. However, at the end of the movie, she's shown wearing a red dress prior to George eating her. As it turns out, she's the film's [[AdaptationalVillainy villainous interpretation of the woman in the red dress from the game's title card prior to being eaten by the same giant ape]].
* Matt Adison, one of the survivors captured at the end of ''Film/ResidentEvil2002'' film, gets experimented on to become the [[Videogame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis Nemesis]] for the next film, ''Film/ResidentEvilApocalypse''.
* In ''Film/ScoobyDoo2002'', the new villain Emile Mondavarious turns out to be a robot suit being piloted by [[TheScrappy Scrappy]] [[TropeNamer Doo]], who underwent a FaceHeelTurn after being kicked out of the group and is now seeking to take over/destroy the world in revenge.
* In ''Film/ScoobyDooMonstersUnleashed'', the gang fights the [[BigBad Evil Masked Figure]] while being harassed by [[{{Paparazzi}} Heather Jasper Howe]]. It's eventually revealed that both of these characters are aliases for Jonathan Jacobo, the Pterodactyl Ghost.
* Introduced in ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020'' was Commander Walters, a decorated but somewhat awkward military official who convinced the government to send [[BigBad Doctor Robotnik]] to Green Hills. Following the battle between Sonic and Robotnik in San Francisco and by the events of ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog22022'', he was put in charge of a new secret task force dedicated to battling extraterrestrial threats, deeming Sonic one for not aligning himself with them. The group was named "Guardian Unit of Nations", or G.U.N. for short. This makes Walters a LighterAndSofter version of the G.U.N. Commander from ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog''. His horrified reaction to "Project Shadow" only cements this further.
* Had Sam Raimi's ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' continued, Creator/BruceCampbell's various cameos would have been revealed to all be disguises of Quentin Beck, a.k.a. ComicBook/{{Mysterio}}.
* ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'':
** Creator/BenedictCumberbatch's character is introduced as "John Harrison", but halfway through is revealed to be this universe's [[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan Khan Noonien Singh]].
** The new character Carol Wallace is soon revealed to be the evil Admiral Marcus's daughter, making her Carol Marcus, Kirk's love-interest from Star Trek II. Downplayed, as unlike Harrison, her true identity was never treated as a huge secret.
** On a less plot relevant note, the security officer credited as "Cupcake" (a.k.a. "Burly Cadet #1" from the previous movie) is referred to by Kirk as "Mr Hendorff", confirming the suggestion in the ''ComicBook/StarTrekIDW'' comic book that he's this universe's version of Hendorff from "The Appl.".
* This was originally going to be the case for ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014'', where CorruptCorporateExecutive Eric Sacks was supposed to don a suit of PoweredArmor and reveal himself as the Shredder at the film's climax. Despite this clearly being set up (including "Eric Sacks" being a play on the Shredder's traditional real name of "Oroku Saki"), reshoots added actor Tohoru Masamune as the ''real'' Shredder due to heavy fan backlash after the twist was leaked online.
* ''Film/{{Wendy}}'': James turns into Captain Hook at the end, losing a hand and fashioning a hook for himself in its place. In a more lighthearted take, he embraces the role of Peter's "enemy" as a form of play-acting for their mutual amusement.
* One of the central antagonists of ''Film/TheWolverine'' is a new character named Ichirō Yashida. To stave off his impeding death via cancer, he hooks himself up to a gleaming set of samurai-styled PoweredArmor, becoming the film's version of Silver Samurai.
* In TheStinger of ''Film/YoungSherlockHolmes'', the BigBad Rathe is revealed not to have died in his fight with Holmes. He checks into an inn by signing his name as "Moriarty", showing that he will become Holmes's nemesis in the years ahead. Literature/SherlockHolmes media seems to love this trope; see more examples below.

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/CastleInTheAir'' by Creator/DianaWynneJones is a sequel to her novel ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle''. Initially it appears to be an unrelated story set in a different part of the same fantasy world, with all-new characters. However, late in the book it's revealed that several of the supporting cast are actually characters from the first book, who've been transformed and/or enchanted by djinn magic. Furthermore, the titular castles of both books are one and the same.
* Towards the end of ''LightNovel/DanganronpaZero'', it turns out that the protagonist and original character Ryoko Otonashi is actually the amnesiac BigBad of the franchise, Junko Enoshima.
* The main antagonist of Shin-ya Goikeda's ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'' novel is a mysterious and heavily-bandaged mercenary named Gilver. It isn't until the end of the book that he's revealed to be Dante's evil twin brother Vergil.
* OlderThanSteam example is in ''Literature/DonQuixote''. The second part of the book introduces a minor character called Maese Pedro, a master puppeteer whom we think is one of the many side characters we encounter along the way. Then we find out that it's actually Gines de Pasamonte, the same con-man who handed Don Quixote his major defeat in ''Part I''.
* Several in ''Literature/Heartless2016'' -- a prequel to ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'', which may or may not be a Reveal depending on your familiarity with the source material: Mary Ann is the same Mary Ann that serves as a maid to the White Rabbit, Margaret Mearle becomes the Duchess, and Raven becomes the Queen of Hearts' executioner.
* ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'', as things get more serious, has started to have actual Franchise/CthulhuMythos entities take the stage, in two cases under initially less-threatening identities.
** The entity in Mo's violin is actually a fragment of Literature/TheKingInYellow.
** Mind-controlling supervillain Fabian Everyman a.k.a. the Mandate is none other than Nyarlathotep.
** The master of the Black Chamber is Cthulhu.
** Then there's the "unicorn" from "Equoid," which is strongly, ''strongly'' hinted to be an avatar of Shub-Niggurath.
* ''Literature/OutlawsShadow'' features several original characters to fill out RobinHood’s EvilCounterpart Guy of Gisbourne’s surrounding cast, but two of them are tricks pulled on Guy and the audience: the Merry Men’s MasterSwordsman Finch [[MythologyGag Fitzwalter]] is actually Maid Marian, and Friar Tuck’s [[TheGadfly goofy]] and seemingly French companion [[MeaningfulName Dismas]] is actually Robin Hood.
* In ''Literature/AStudyInEmerald'', the protagonists initially seem like [[WritingAroundTrademarks lawyer-friendly]] [[{{Expy}} expies]] of [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Sherlock Holmes and John Watson]]. Their names aren't explicitly said and their backgrounds are kept rather vague. The ending reveals the real reason for this: They're not expies of Holmes and Watson, or even the real deal. They're ''James Moriarty and Sebastian Moran''. The real Holmes and Watson are the "killers" (actually freedom fighters) that the detectives are investigating.
* Creator/JaneYolen's Arthurian novel ''Sword of the Rightful King'' includes a character named Gawen who comes to Cadbury and gets a job as Merlinnus' assistant. He winds up getting as much focus as the canonical characters before the end, when we find out that he is actually a [[SweetPollyOliver crossdressing]] Guinevere.
* ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': In ''Literature/TheNumairChronicles'', the gladiator slave Musenda Ogunsanwo is eventually revealed to be "Sarge", who was first introduced as a free man at a much later point in his life in ''Literature/TheImmortals''. However, this is only a surprise to people who didn't read the DramatisPersonae of ''[[Literature/TrickstersDuet Trickster's Choice]]'', in which he makes a brief cameo; or ''[[Literature/TortallASpysGuide A Spy's Guide]]'', which has a file on him.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'':
** ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':
*** This show gives Oliver Queen a younger sister named Thea. Her AffectionateNickname is "Speedy", the name of ComicBook/GreenArrow's {{Sidekick}}s in the comics, and her middle name is revealed to be "Dearden"; Mia Dearden is the name of the second Speedy. The pilot also shows several archery trophies in her room. While it seems to be a MythologyGag at first, and the third episode of Season Three even has her using "Mia" as an alias, it later officially confirms that she is indeed the show's version of Mia when she dons Roy Harper's (canonically the first Speedy) vigilante gear and uses her nickname as a CodeName the following season.
*** The show also gives Dinah Laurel Lance a younger sister named Sara. She's presumed dead for Season One, but resurfaces in Season Two under the identity of "The Canary", making her the equivalent of Dinah Drake-Lance ([[DecompositeCharacter who's also in the show]] as the girls' mother, [[AdaptationalWimp but never holds the mantle]]), the first ComicBook/BlackCanary in the comics until she passes the mantle to her daughter Dinah Laurel Lance. True to form, Laurel dons the mantle after Sara's [[DroppedABridgeOnHim death]] at the beginning of Season Three. However, after [[DeathIsCheap Sara's]] [[BackFromTheDead resurrection]] in Season Four, Laurel is KilledOffForReal by Damien Darhk, asking Oliver on her deathbed to [[PassingTheTorch pass the mantle]] [[TakeUpMySword to someone else]]. In the middle of Season Five, a new character named Tina Boland, a former Central City cop who has the metahuman Canary Cry as a result of the particle accelerator explosion, is introduced to take up that mantle. At the end of her first episode (second counting her cameo at the end of the preceding one), she reveals that "Tina Boland" is just her undercover alias; her real name is Dinah Drake, making this an odd case of coming full circle.[[note]]The same season that introduced Dinah also brought in an EvilTwin of Laurel, codenamed Black Siren, from a parallel Earth introduced during ''Series/TheFlash2014'', who eventually makes a HeelFaceTurn in Season Six and shares the Black Canary mantle with Dinah starting in Season Seven.[[/note]]
*** Edward Fyers' [[TheVoiceless silent]] [[TheDragon right-hand man]] wears a ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}}-styled costume, but after escaping him, Oliver meets and teams up with Deathstroke's civilian identity, Slade Wilson. In his second episode, Slade reveals that the man in the costume is William "Billy" Wintergreen, Slade's butler and comrade in the comics, here his partner who betrayed him to Fyers.
*** An unusual case occurs with Vigilante. In the comics, he's been various people, most notably Adrian Chase, but in Season Five of ''Arrow'', Chase turns out to be an alias of BigBad Prometheus, whose real name was never revealed in the comics and is given here as Simon [[Creator/GrantMorrison Morrison]]. However, early in Season Six, Dinah Drake's old cop partner, Vincent Sobel, who was believed to have died years ago, is unmasked as Vigilante (this incarnation wears Adrian's suit from the comics, to add to the reveal).
*** In the 2018 crossover ''Series/{{Elseworlds|2018}}'', Series/{{the Flash|1990}} of Earth-90 implies that his version of John Diggle was a Franchise/GreenLantern. Eventually, it's revealed that John's stepfather is named General Roy Stewart, which means that if he hadn't rejected his stepfather's family name, Diggle would have been John Stewart. As Diggle was a CanonImmigrant who was brought into the comics before this, this led to ExpyCoexistence in the comics. During the GrandFinale of ''Arrow'', a Green Lantern ring comes to John, suggesting that he will don the mantle after all.
** ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'':
*** Dr. Harrison Wells, the BigBad of Season One, appears at first to be an original character. However, it is later revealed that Wells is not only the Reverse-Flash, but the original Reverse-Flash, Eobard Thawne, who stole the identity of the real Harrison Wells fourteen years before the events of the series. WordOfGod also confirms that Wells is the counterpart of both Dr. Robert Meersman and Dr. Garrison Slate, the founders of S.T.A.R. Labs in the comics. In Season Two, we are introduced to an AlternateUniverse analogue of the real Wells, whose daughter is Jesse Quick, making him this universe's version of Johnny Quick.
*** The mysterious masked man from the second half of Season Two turns out to be none other than Jay Garrick, the original Flash in the comics. Furthermore, Jay is the Earth-3 doppelganger of Earth-1's Henry Allen, Barry's father. Meanwhile, Earth-2's "Jay Garrick" turns out to be the BigBad Hunter Zolomon/Zoom putting on an act (and later making use of a time remnant to fake his own death), making him, like "Adrian Chase" above, a ''different'' canonical character than the one he was presented as.[[note]]This portrayal was a bit InNameOnly by virtue of being more like the Rival (as a Velocity 9 powered speedster rather than having [[TimeStandsStill time slowing powers]]), the only thing in common with the original Zoom being the character's name and civilian identity.[[/note]]
*** Creator/TomFelton joins the cast in Season Three as a young CSI named Julian Albert. In the seventh episode, Julian is revealed to be the civilian identity of Doctor Alchemy, TheDragon to the current BigBad Savitar[[note]]Although it turned out he wasn't voluntarily evil, but was being possessed by Savitar all along.[[/note]], and in the ninth episode, his full name is revealed in a FreezeFrameBonus to be Julian Albert Desmond (Doctor Alchemy's real identity was Albert Desmond).
*** Savitar comes off as an InNameOnly version of his comics counterpart, who was a long-haired, shirtless, and highly muscular Eastern European man with sparse red, gold, and black armor; this version looks more like a walking suit of silvery armor with glowing blue TronLines. However, there's one phrase he keeps repeating when confronted, and in the twentieth episode, it proves to be a SarcasticConfession of his true identity: "I am the Future Flash." He's really the show's version of Barry's [[FutureMeScaresMe evil future self]] from the New 52 comics, as hinted by the TronLines having the same design as they did on the comics' black Flash suit, and it's indicated that he merely took the name "Savitar" from myths about the God of Motion. He also proves to be a DecompositeCharacter, as in the preceding episode, Barry time travels to 2024 and meets his future self, who is not villainous; "Savitar" is a [[EvilTwin scarred time remnant]] of that Barry, representing all of the Future Flash's negative qualities.
*** Throughout Season 4, the members of Team Flash encounter a mysterious girl. It's eventually revealed that she's Barry and Iris's daughter from the future. She introduces herself as Nora West-Allen, indicating that she's the show's version of Nora Allen II from the BadFuture in the ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague (Rebirth)'' storyline "Legacy". Then it turns out that [[CompositeCharacter she's also the show's version of XS]], who in the comics was Jenni Ognats, Barry's granddaughter.
*** Inverted with Cicada, the BigBad of Season Five. In the comics, he's a long-lived cult leader named David Hersch. Indeed, when Harrison Sherloque Wells takes the case, he quickly deduces Cicada's identity. In fact, Sherloque faked the deduction. He has managed to identify and capture Cicada on over 30 Earths, and it's always been David Hersch. However, due to XS changing the timeline during the Season Four finale, Earth-1's Cicada is actually a CanonForeigner named Orlin Dwyer. Instead of being merely a {{serial killer}}, like Hersch would apparently have been, Dwyer is determined to [[OmnicidalManiac wipe out all metahumans in the world]]. And Dwyer is only a DiscOneFinalBoss. For the last stretch of the season, the future version of his niece Grace Gibbons, now Cicada II, is an even more powerful and ruthless (she murders Dr. Ambrose, then her uncle when he tries to talk her down) version of the character.
*** The OnceASeason analogue of Harrison Wells for Season Six is an AdventurerArchaeologist named Nash Wells who tries to prove that the Monitor is a false god and prophet. ''Series/{{Crisis on Infinite Earths|2019}}'' reveals he's the Arrowverse version of Pariah, whose origins also involve searching for "forbidden" knowledge. However, his role as the one who accidentally enters the antimatter universe and awakens the Anti-Monitor, due to his experiments with trying to see the birth of creation, [[DecompositeCharacter is given to Mar Novu, the Monitor himself]].
*** Zigzagged with Eva [=McCulloch=]. She’s initially set up as a straightforward adaptation of Evan [=McCulloch=]/Mirror Master, but is eventually revealed to actually be a mirror clone created when the real Eva was killed years past. She then takes up the name Mirror Monarch, a 25th century incarnation of Mirror Master in the comics.
** ''Series/{{Supergirl|2015}}'': Season Three features a sinister, nameless witch who exists as an interactive {{hologram}} and pushes Samantha Arias into becoming Reign, then further manipulates her and the other two Worldkillers to bring about the cleansing of Earth. In the twentieth episode, Kara and Mon-El arrive in Argo City, where the witch turns out to be alive, a member of the High Council, and named Selena; she's this universe's version of the BigBad from the ''Film/{{Supergirl|1984}}'' movie.
** ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'':
*** After being resurrected, re-ensouled by [[Series/{{Constantine}} John Constantine]], and briefly rejoining Team Arrow, the aforementioned Sara Lance decides to leave her identity as "The Canary" behind and becomes the [[LightIsGood White Canary]], an existing comics character who's [[AdaptationalHeroism usually]] [[LightIsNotGood villainous]] (and [[RaceLift asian]]).
*** [[ComicBook/TheAtom Ray Palmer]]'s fiancée (later wife) in the comics is named Jean Loring. In ''Arrow'', Jean was given an AgeLift and is the Queens' family friend and lawyer while Ray had a late fiancée named Anna instead. On ''Legends'', he finally reveals Anna's surname as Loring, making her and Jean a DecompositeCharacter. The women's relationship is not stated, though.
** ''Series/CrisisOnEarthX'': One of the new Reichsman is called Prometheus, despite having little in common with the comic versions or ''Arrow'''s own Prometheus, aside from wearing the same costume as the latter. He is eventually unmasked as Tommy Merlyn's [[EvilTwin Earth-X counterpart]], essentially filling the role of the evil Tommy from the New 52 comics.[[note]] A closer analogue to the New 52 Tommy Merlyn is eventually depicted as the Dark Archer of Earth-2 in the eighth season of Arrow, attempting to do the Undertaking his Earth-1 self's father Malcolm had previously attempted on Earth-1's Starling City.[[/note]]
** ''Series/{{Black Lightning|2018}}'':
*** Khalil Payne appears to be the average high school athlete who dreams of becoming a professional until a DreamCrushingHandicap turns him into a paraplegic. However, thanks to the machinations of [[BigBad Tobias Whale]], who provides him with reconstructive spinal surgery, Khalil returns as a {{Dreadlock|Warrior}}ed enforcer for Tobias with SuperStrength and wearing bracers firing anesthetic needles, thus becoming the villain Painkiller, part of Black Lightning's rogues in the comics.
*** Lala appears to be nothing more than a drug dealer who works for Tobias. After getting arrested and killed, it looks like that's all there is to him. However, he returns, brought back to life thanks to Tobias and money he put into researching resurrection, with the ability to gain the images of people he's killed tattooed into his skin. Tobias then gives him the name of lesser known DC villain Tattooed Man.
** ''Series/SupermanAndLois'':
*** The character known in the first six episodes as "Captain Luthor" or "The Stranger" is revealed in Episode 7 to actually be John Henry Irons, a.k.a. ComicBook/{{Steel}}.
* In ''Series/{{Cursed}}'', a loose reimagining of the Myth/ArthurianLegend, there are a few characters who seem to be {{Canon Foreigner}}s, only to be revealed as classic Arthurian characters. This includes:
** Igraine, Arthur's nun sister, who explains soon after her introduction that her birth name is Morgana.
** Squirrel, who in the Season 1 finale reveals his given name is Percival.
** The Weeping Monk, who reveals at the end of Season 1 that he was once called Lancelot.
** Although not mentioned on the show yet, the book ''Cursed'' is [[TheShowOfTheBooks based upon]] reveals that the Red Spear's real name is Guinevere.
* In the ''Series/DeathNote'' live-action drama, the Task Force is joined by a former FBI agent named Shoko Himura. She is eventually revealed to be a {{Race Lift}}ed version of Halle Lidner from the manga.
* ''Series/DoomPatrol2019'':
** In the third episode, the heroes meet a dorky but goodnatured American tourist named Steven, who has come to Paraguay for a procedure that will grant him superpowers. He emerges from the transformation chamber in TheStinger, revealing himself to be the show's version of Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man.
** When ComicBook/{{Cyborg}} is captured and taken to the Ant Farm in the twelfth episode, one of the superhuman prisoners he briefly encounters is a shaggy-haired man who has been there for decades and can't recall his own name. The next episode reveals he's an amnesiac ComicBook/FlexMentallo.
* ''Series/TheExorcist'' initially seems to have little if any connection to the original films, until it's revealed that Angela Rance is actually Regan [=MacNeil=] and the "new" demon known as the Salesman is actually her old enemy, [[BigBad Pazuzu]].
* When ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'' was adapted into [[Series/FromDuskTillDawn a television series]], Jake Busey showed up early in season one as a Professor Aiden Tanner. Professor Tanner never appeared in any of the films, so you could assume he's a CanonForeigner. You can stop assuming a few episodes later when he shows up as the biker Sex Machine.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Theon spends most of Season Three tortured by a nameless Bolton follower portrayed by Creator/IwanRheon. It isn't until the finale that he's finally called Ramsay, Roose Bolton's son.
* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'':
** In Season One, The Electrocutioner seemed to be a new creation, given his name of "Jack Gruber", much like ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' creating Temple Fugate for its Clock King or ''Series/LoisAndClark'' creating Kyle Griffin for its Prankster rather than respectively using the canonical William Tockman or Oswald Loomis. Then Jack's real name is revealed to be "Buchinsky", the last name of two of the canonical Electrocutioners in the comics (who are also brothers), meaning he's either the original undergoing NamedByTheAdaptation (as his first name was never revealed) or he's the third Electrocutioner, Lester, undergoing AdaptationNameChange with his first name.
** In Season Two, Theo Galavan seems to be a brand-new villain invented for the show. All throughout his arc, nothing seems to change this, aside from having an association with the Secret Order of St. Dumas, his original family. Then the ''next'' ArcVillain brings him BackFromTheDead, and his memories are kind of scrambled, leading to him taking on the identity of a mythical knight from his family's mythology...Azrael, another character connected to St. Dumas.
** In the Season Three finale, Butch Gilzean, Fish Mooney's former lap dog turned Penguin's then turned Barbara's, has fallen into a coma, and the nurses discover that his real name is Cyrus Gold, a.k.a. ''Solomon Grundy''. Sure enough, in the very next season, he returns as the famed villain.
** Subverted with Ecco, who was introduced late into the fourth season, and started gradually exhibiting more and more characteristics of ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, to the point where she's seemingly one GivenNameReveal away from being cemented as the show's incarnation of Harleen Quinzel. Then, in the series finale, after getting stabbed by Barbara Kean, she's shot to death by ComicBook/TheJoker, with the implication that he would find another girl like her (i.e. the actual Harley) later in life.
** Similarly, Mr. Penn suddenly comes BackFromTheDead with a dummy called Scarface and, despite his obvious physical resemblance to Arnold Wesker, is killed by Riddler in the same episode.
** Secretary Walker turns out to be Nyssa al Ghul, filling a role similar to her sister Talia in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''. Perhaps less surprisingly, her heavy Eduardo is Bane -- the fact his surname is "Durance" is a clue, but a fairly subtle one, since it's a name more associated with Bane's father Edmund Durance/King Snake than Bane himself, who in the comics just goes by Bane.
* Episode 5 of ''Series/JupitersLegacy'' opens with Sheldon Sampson talking with a therapist in what appears to be a therapist's office, setting it up a framing device for the Union origin story flashback portions of the episode. The therapist himself appears to be just a random nameless bit character, however the end of the episode reveals he's actually Jack Hobb – a villain the Utopian fought and eventually re-habilitated in ''ComicBook/JupitersCircle'', with the therapist's office being inside a cell in the Supermax.
* ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'' has a few subversions, although it can be handwaved because the heroes are travelling through TheMultiverse and these characters are just Alternate Selves of the originals.
** Eijiro Hikari, the CloudCuckooLander TeamDad of the heroes, is actually Shocker's Dr. Shinigami, complete with his kaijin form, Ikadevil. It's implied however that he was just a guinea pig of the actual character, and Decade's GrandFinale movie shows that it's an identity that he doesn't want to go back to, although he gets kidnapped by the next character on this list and brainwashed.
** Narutaki, the closest Decade has to a BigBad, takes on the identity of Colonel Zol, another Shocker admin like Hikari. However, Narutaki is still a NonActionBigBad and never assumes Zol's werewolf form, making him just a flimsy LegacyCharacter. Then in ''Super Hero Taisen'', he becomes yet another character, this time Destron's Doktor G from ''Series/KamenRiderV3'', but unlike his Zol identity he does transform into an updated version of G's kaijin form, Kani Laser.
** Nobuhiko Tsukikage, Sayo's (Tsukasa's/Decade's younger sister) caretaker and usurper of Tsukasa's role as leader of [[LegionOfDoom Great Shocker]] is in fact [[Series/KamenRiderBlack Shadow Moon]].
* Throughout the first season of ''Series/Legion2017'', David is tormented by several psychic entities, including one that has assumed the guise of his friend Lenny, a monster called the Devil with the Yellow Eyes, a children's book character called the Angry Boy, and his childhood dog, King. In Episode 7, we find out that all of these individuals are actually forms of Amahl Farouk, a.k.a. the Shadow King, a prominent villain from the ''ComicBook/XMen'' comics.
* Inverted with Dr. Smith in ''Series/LostInSpace2018'', as she's really not Dr. Smith, who was still male, but rather, pulled a KillAndReplace on him.
* From the TV sections of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'':
*** Skye. Throughout the first season, she's a normal human hacker with a MysteriousPast. At the beginning of the second season, the team starts suspecting she may have an alien origin. But it isn't until [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS2E10WhatTheyBecome the tenth episode]] that it's revealed that she is actually ComicBook/DaisyJohnson a.k.a. Quake, a ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} agent from the comics.
*** Andrew Garner, May's husband, is nothing more that a regular psychoanalyst and professor - until at some point between seasons 2 and 3 he became an [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Inhuman]], a canonical supervillain named Lash (whose human identity in the comics is someone else, as with Deathlok).
*** Speaking of Deathlok, he was introduced in the very first episode as Mike Peterson, a factory worker given superpowers due to a modified version of the Extremis serum from ''Iron Man 3'' called Centipede. He was captured by SHIELD and became a SHIELD agent until he was seemingly killed by Hydra and turned into a cyborg. His identity as Deathlok wasn't revealed until a close-up on one of his bionic parts showed that he was part of a Project Deathlok.
*** In the first half of Season 3, the central plot is an attempt by ComicBook/{{HYDRA}} to bring back an ancient Inhuman banished to another planet thousands of years ago. Finally, the Inhuman possesses Ward, a SHIELD agent who turned out to be a HYDRA agent, and turns out to be the MCU version of Hive (with overtones of ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}}), making it a double case of the trope.
*** Anton Ivanov, the "Superior" of the Watchdogs, received a lot of build-up, only to be ignored by Coulson ([[ButForMeItWasTuesday who Ivanov considers his greatest foe]]) and soundly defeated by Daisy ([[FantasticRacism who Ivanov considers scum]]). Then Aida gets a hold of him and gives him a [[RemoteBody remote-operated LMD]] controlled by his [[BrainInAJar severed head in a jar]], revealing that he is [[http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Red_Guardian_(Anton) Red Guardian]]. Part of the reason this worked is because the MCU averts OneSteveLimit; Ivanov is not the first character named Anton. And then in later episodes, he learns how to pilot multiple mobile LMD bodies at once, which he describes as "designed only for killing." So he's also the MCU's ComicBook/{{MODOK}}. (A further clue is that the current version of M.O.D.O.K. in the comics is a cloned brain of the original who was introduced as controlling an army of [=LMDs=], and he calls himself M.O.D.O.K. Superior.)
*** AIDA is already drawn from the comics for the fourth season, but late in the season she traps the cast in a virtual simulation where she runs a tyrannical regime under a much better-known comics identity of [[ComicBook/{{HYDRA}} Madame Hydra]], and later escapes into the real world with this form, albeit now with Inhuman powers.
** Nobu in ''Series/Daredevil2015'': an episode late in the first season reveals that the organization he represents is the Hand, a clan of ninjas that often clash with Daredevil. His full name is later given as Nobu Yoshioka; in the comics Kagenobu Yoshioka was the founder of the Hand, and true enough, he comes back as season 2's BigBad.
** Will Simpson in ''Series/JessicaJones2015'' seems to be an original character who wasn't based on any previous Marvel hero or villain. It's later revealed that he is the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse's version of ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' villain Nuke a.k.a. ''[[AdaptationNameChange Frank]]'' Simpson.
** Andre Deschaine in ''Series/CloakAndDagger2018'' turns out to be D'Spayre, sort of. He's a superhuman rather than a Fear Lord, but he has the same powers, and a link to Tandy and Ty's origin.
** In ''Series/WandaVision'', Wanda's NosyNeighbor Agnes turns out to be the witch Agatha Harkness, who served as a mentor to Wanda in the comics. However, she has [[AdaptationalVillainy a more villainous role here]], meddling in the plot of Wanda's sitcom reality for her own ends. TheReveal even calls this trope by name, courtesy of a VillainSong titled "Agatha All Along".
** ''Series/Hawkeye2021'':
*** In Episode Two, Clint's old Ronin suit gets taken by a firefighter who [=LARPs=] on his downtime and wanted a better costume for an upcoming session. After Clint finds him, he's revealed to be Grills, Clint's neighbor from the Matt Fraction[=/=]David Aja run of the comic.
*** Episode Three introduces the mysterious "Uncle", the leader of the Tracksuit Mafia in a flashback. For most of the series he seems to be TheGhost, until [[WhamEpisode Episode Five "Ronin"]] reveals him to be none other than [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheKingpin Wilson Fisk]] a.k.a [[Series/Daredevil2015 The Kingpin]].
** ''Series/MoonKnight2022'':
*** Marc Spector's wife was changed from Marlene Alraune to Layla El-Faouly, becoming both an ActionGirl and [[AdaptationalNationality Egyptian]] like Moon Knight's origin. But the character's father, still a murdered archaeologist, being now named Abdallah El-Faouly hinted at what the character would become: Abdoul Faoul was the first Scarlet Scarab, and the season finale had Layla turning into that hero.
** ''Series/MsMarvel2022'': An item example with the bangle that Ms. Marvel wields to gain her powers, [[spoiler:it swaps her and Captain Marvel in TheStinger, revealing it to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of the Nega-Bands that swapped Mar-Vell and Rick Jones in older comics.]]
* ''Series/OnceUponATime'':
** August Wayne Booth is a mysterious character who's implied at various points to be the Author and Baelfire, or possibly an ''actual'' CanonForeigner, but the end of Season One reveals he's none of those; he's a grown-up Pinocchio, coming to Storybrooke after magic returning to the world means his own curse activates and he starts turning back into wood for being selfish.
** Part of Rumpelstiltskin's backstory involves his neglectful ResentfulGuardian of a father, Malcolm. Malcolm is revealed in the third season to be the adult counterpart of Peter Pan.
** While most of the characters, settings, and storylines have been derived from fairy tales and myths, the [[ArtifactOfDoom Dark One's dagger]] seems for most of the show to be an original creation. However, it's revealed in the fifth season that the dagger was fashioned from the broken blade of Excalibur.
* The second season of the horror MassiveMultiplayerCrossover ''Series/PennyDreadful'' reveals that the werewolf Ethan Chandler was actually born Ethan [[Film/TheWolfMan1941 Lawrence Talbot]].
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers''
** Nate is just another MissionControl member and creator of the Rangers' tech in ''Series/PowerRangersBeastMorphers'', until he gets kidnapped by the bad guys and becomes the PR equivalent to [[Series/TokumeiSentaiGoBusters Beet Buster]], the Gold Beast Morpher Ranger.
*** This gets one-upped by the end of the second season. The team captures [[BigBad Evox]] and tries to destroy him, but he escapes into the computers of Grid Battleforce HQ. Instead of going to the Morph-X towers, he heads to Nate's Ranger Vault...and the suitcase containing [[Series/PowerRangersRPM the Ranger Series Morphers]]. It turns out that Evox is actually ''RPM'''s BigBad Venjix!
* ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'':
** Inverted with Miss Grundy, who turns out to be an impostor who stole her current identity from a dead woman of the same name.
** Zigzagged with the man who attacked Fred in the Season One finale. Season Two reveals that the assailant is the show's version of Black Hood, but it turns out that his true identity isn't anyone who took on the mantle of the Black Hood in the comics, but rather [[CompositeCharacter fellow canonical character Hal Cooper]].
* Molly's colleague Jim in ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' seems like an ineffectual StraightGay background character, until it's revealed that his last name is [[BigBad Moriarty]].
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** Zig-Zagged with Chloe Sullivan who, when she writes her first piece for the ''Daily Planet'', uses her cousin's ComicBook/LoisLane's name as her ''nom de plume'' - setting up that Chloe is the ''Smallville''-verse Lois. But later in the series Lois proper shows up. Chloe becomes the series' version of Oracle instead.
** Tess Mercer is eventually and gradually revealed to be a CompositeCharacter of Eve Tessmacher, Lena Luthor, Mercy Graves and Big Barda.
** Davis Bloome, a love interest of Chloe's, is revealed to be the mortal form of Doomsday, with Doomsday being a SuperpoweredEvilSide.
** Also inverted: after spending several seasons with ComicBook/JimmyOlsen, he's killed off and we find out that his hereto unseen ''brother'' will become the canonical character. [[OneSteveLimit As it turns out, the name he was identified by was his middle name]], his first name was Henry. His younger brother has the actual canonical name.
** In the final season, Tess adopts a young clone of Lex known as LX-15 in hopes of him avoiding the same path as his donor as he ages rapidly into a teenager. At first it seems he's going to be a new Lex Luthor, but eventually becomes scared of what he's becoming and gives in. Tess tries to end his suffering by injecting cyanide, but finds his skin is invulnerable. After more tests and his memories as LX-15 disappear, it turns out he has Clark Kent's DNA. He adopts a new, friendly attitude and is welcomed by Clark with a new name: [[ComicBook/Superboy1994 Conner Kent]].
* The ''Series/{{Spartacus}}'' series:
** The gladiators' DrillSergeantNasty mentor throughout Season One is revealed to be Oenomaus, one of Spartacus' historical generals.
** The show features one RebelLeader named Agron. His name is not in the historical records and the show is only missing Castus. Many thought that either Castus was AdaptedOut or AdaptationNameChange is in play until the final season confirms that he is a DecompositeCharacter of Castus, who appeared as an InNameOnly SixthRanger to the rebels.
* ''Series/Watchmen2019'' focuses on a Tulsa policewoman named Angela Abar. While she herself isn't a case, at first, it seems that her grandfather, Will Reeves, and husband, Cal, are created for the series like her. However, Will and Cal ''are'' this trope as "This Extraordinary Being" and "An Almost Religious Awe" reveal they're respectively Hooded Justice and Dr. Manhattan.
* In the "Terra Firma" two-parter of ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', Burnham and Georgiou encounter a mysterious man named Carl, who knows things about them that he shouldn't, guards a door in the middle of nowhere, and has unknown powers. Fans have thrown out guesses, including suggestions that he's a Q. After he sends Georgiou back to the MirrorUniverse as a SecretTestOfCharacter, he finally decides to reveal himself...
-->'''Burnham:''' Who are you? Really?\\
'''Carl:''' Really? ''(voice echoing)'' '''I AM THE [[Recap/StarTrekS1E28TheCityOnTheEdgeOfForever GUARDIAN OF FOREVER]].'''

[[folder:Podcast]]
* ''Podcast/{{Wolverine}}''
** Variant in the first season, where Logan is pursued by a pair of FBI agents named Sally Pierce and Tad Marshall. In the season finale, they're revealed to be human-sized [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot Sentinels]] created by Weapon X.
** In the second season, the characters are menaced by a mysterious, flamboyantly-dressed individual who Marcus calls "The Whisper Man." In episode 3, the Whisper Man turns out to be Jason Wyngarde, a.k.a. Mastermind.
* One episode of ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'' introduces a new character known as Silas, a GentlemanThief that is now seemingly imprisoned. He spends the whole episode monologing to someone who is taking care of him but can't understand him, and the only connection this episode has to the rest of the show is him mentioning to his caretaker that "you probably haven't even left Night Vale". Until the last line of the episode: "And for the last time, my name is Silas, [[not BalefulPolymorph]] [[TeamPet Kosheck]]!"

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 5E adventure ''TabletopGame/TheWildBeyondTheWitchlight'', the archfey Zybilna turns out to be [[TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}} Iggwilv the Witch Queen]], better known as Tasha.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* In the original West End staging of ''Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', Charlie encountered an old tramp in the garbage dump near the former's house at the top of the show, who later encouraged him to buy the Wonka Bar that turned out to contain the last of the Golden Tickets. The very last scene revealed that this character was actually Willy Wonka, who had taken a shine to the creative boy and thus rigged his own contest to make sure Charlie could visit the factory. This plot twist was removed for the Broadway and subsequent stagings. Notably, the show didn't CastAsAMask and there are only a few hints in the libretto that these characters could be connected.
* ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' provides backstories for several characters in ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz.'' While some are established from the get-go (Elphaba is the Wicked Witch of the West, her sister Nessarose the Wicked Witch of the East, and Glinda is, well, Glinda the Good Witch), three of them are left as reveals for Act Two. The lion cub that Elphaba rescues from a kidnapping is the Cowardly Lion- Elphaba not "letting him fight his own battles" is blamed for his cowardly behavior. Munchkin prince Boq is the Tin Man, as Nessarose's mispronounced spell shrinks his heart, so Elphaba saves his life by turning him into something that could live without a heart. Lastly, Fiyero is the Scarecrow, who was also transformed by Elphaba so he could survive the savage beating he got in the cornfield.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins'': The ending reveals that Aya, Bayek's wife, renounces her old identity and becomes Amunet - one of the Assassins with a statue dedicated to them under the [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII Villa Auditore]], who was famous for killing Cleopatra with a poisonous snake.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' does this with its titular villain. Up until the game's release, Rocksteady insisted that the Arkham Knight was an original character who stood as Batman's antithesis. While the Arkham Knight '''as an identity''' was new, the person behind the mask, Jason Todd a.k.a. ComicBook/RedHood, was an already established character. This set up a MetaTwist when the Arkham Knight became a CanonImmigrant in ''Detective Comics'' #1000. Many fans assumed this incarnation of the Knight was a preexisting character, due to how knowledgeable the Knight is about Batman. Then ''Detective Comics'' #1003 had an unmasking revealing that the Knight is actually Astrid Arkham, [[GenderFlip a woman]], thus making the Arkham Knight a truly original character within the comic book canon.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries'':
** The main antagonist of the series, Lady Arkham, turned out to be a canonical character, though few people probably expected that said character was Vicki Vale.
** Also played with regarding John Doe. Upon first seeing him in Episode 4, it's obvious he's going to become ComicBook/TheJoker, and Season 2 is set up as John Doe's StartOfDarkness. The twist is he only becomes The Joker, as we know him, in one of Season 2 Episode 4's MultipleEndings. In the other, he becomes a VigilanteMan inspired by Batman, fighting against The Agency.
* ''VideoGame/BendyAndTheInkMachine'': The tie-in novel, ''Dreams Come To Life'', stars Daniel "Buddy" Lewek, a volunteer at Joey Drew Studios who appears to have been created solely for the book. Come the end of the book however, Buddy is transformed into a Boris clone, with the heavy implication that he's the Boris we ally with in Chapter Three.
* ''VideoGame/TheCaligulaEffect2'' introduces Marie Amabuki, the Student Council President of Tatefushi Academy and playable character. Only late in the game it's revealed (and outright confirmed in her Character Episodes) that she's actually Marie Mizuguchi or rather, as how the player knew her in the previous game, the former Ostinato Musician Wicked.
* In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019'', one of main protagonists, Sergeant Kyle Garrick, at first seemed to be a completely new character without any direct counterparts from the original ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' trilogy. That is, until the very end of the Campaign when Laswell reveals to Price his nickname: ''Gaz'', a diminutive of his surname, making Garrick a rebooted version of the original Captain Price's second-in-command all the way back from ''Call of Duty 4''.
* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}''
** In the first ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow'' game ''Aria of Sorrow'', the player character Soma Cruz is eventually revealed to be the reincarnation of the series BigBad Dracula himself.
** In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence'', Sara Trantoul, on the verge of being turned into a vampire, makes use of alchemy to transplant her soul into Leon's whip, turning it into the Vampire Killer.
** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow''
*** Protagonist Gabriel Belmont initially appears to be an original character created for that series' [[AlternateContinuity universe]], based primarily on ''Lament of Innocence's'' Leon Belmont, the founder of the clan. The ending of the game, however, reveals that he goes on to become that series' incarnation of Dracula, the sworn enemy of the Belmont clan in the main canon proper.
*** Gabriel's mentor and ally, Zobek, is later revealed to be one of the Lords of Shadow, and the AlternateContinuity's version of Death.
* ''VideoGame/CognitiveDissonance'': Your companion Zarbol is revealed to be an insectoid alien in a protective craft near the end of the game. Then he goes back in time, becoming Buzz Buzz from ''Earthbound''.
* ''VideoGame/Disgaea5AllianceOfVengeance'' throws a piece of information in the ending that suggest Christo is possibly Seraph Lamington in his younger years. The game is sort of a [[StealthSequel Stealth Prequel]], and in his epilogue, he returned to Celestia and rose up in rank and became a Seraph, and played a key role in [[VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness an incident involving the demon, angel, and human worlds]]. Some minor details that support this are that he's got the same hair color but not washed out, his ultimate character skill looks awfully similar to Lamington's special skill, and the fact that we never found out Christo's ''real'' name.
* ''Franchise/{{Doom}}'':
** In ''VideoGame/Doom2016'', Olivia Pierce is a human MadScientist who organized the invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Mars}} by the demons from {{Hell}} so that she would be given vast supernatural powers by their leader. Exposure to the energies of Hell has left her an EvilCripple who can only move with help from a cybernetic exoskeleton. When the demons finally [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor give her the powers she wanted]], she and her cybernetics are gruesomely transformed into the Spider Mastermind, the original BigBad and FinalBoss of the [[VideoGame/{{Doom}} first game]].
** In ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'', flashbacks and codex entries concerning the history of the Night Sentinels reveal that the Doom Slayer is actually the main character of the original ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' games. He's even depicted in his original helmet and outfit, with the subtitles outright referring to him as "Doomguy".
* ''Videogame/DreamfallChapters'' gives a lot of space to a "new" character, Saga, who is playable in interlude segments between chapters of the main story, featuring her at different stages of her life. As the story progresses, however, it becomes clearer that we've seen Saga before, and that she's the younger version of Lady Alvane, the old woman who, among other things, served as the narrator of the original ''Videogame/TheLongestJourney'', and was also the first character the player meets in that game.
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'':
** Throughout the ''Cosmos of the Lostbelt'' saga, an individual claiming to be from Chaldea has been visiting the Lostbelts ahead of the protagonists and helping save the local residents. He finally appears in "Atlantis" to protect the protagonists and Mash from Kirschtaria Wodime and reveals his face to be Romani Archaman...but the heroes can quickly tell that he is ''not'' Dr. Roman. Kirschtaria suspects that the Chaldean's true identity is Goetia, the BigBad of the previous part.
** ''Cosmos of the Lostbelt'' introduces a woman named Koyanskaya, Goredolf's secretary who is actually working with the Foreign God for her own goals. The third chapter SIN reveals that her full name is Tamamo Vitch Koyanskaya, implying she is one of Tamamo-no-Mae's tails from ''[[VideoGame/FateEXTRA Fate/EXTRA CCC]]''. The "Tunguska Sanctuary" story then reveals that Koyanskaya [[SubvertedTrope isn't the real Tamamo Vitch]]. Rather she is the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the animals killed in the Tunguska Event, who took Tamamo's likeness and aimed to become a Beast for misguided revenge against humans.
* ''VideoGame/FightClub'': The player character is revealed by the end of the story mode as the man who detonated the bombs for Project Mayhem.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' doesn't have a singular continuity in most cases, but seemingly-OriginalGeneration characters tend to reveal themselves as recurring ones instead.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': the King of Baron and protagonist Cecil's ParentalSubstitute, gets killed even before the game started, but then becomes the Dark Knight Odin.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': minor NPC "Alleyway Jack" is Gilgamesh. Since Gilgamesh is established to be a DimensionalTraveler, he's actually the exact same one as his past guest appearances, although in this case his appearance [[YouDontLookLikeYou has drastically changed]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' actually manages to do this with Gilgamesh within its own continuity. Gilgamesh is met as himself early on in the Hildibrand sidequests after ARR. Come Stormblood's leg of the sidequests, it's revealed that Yojimbo, who is otherwise the boss of the Kugane Castle dungeon, is Gilgamesh in disguise. Likewise, the [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]] is strongly hinted to be some otherwordly being, especially when [[BigBad Emet-Selch]] mistakes them for Azem, who was a friend they used to know back in the ancient days. It's later confirmed that the Warrior of Light is a reincarnation of Azem, meaning the player has been Azem from the very moment they created their new character in the character creation menu. Emet-Selch himself, once he [[OneWingedAngel assumes his true form at the end of Shadowbringers]], turns out to be the local iteration of the summon Hades.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': The slightly-CreepyChild and SpiritAdvisor who had been accompanying Tidus since even before his journey began, is actually the human form of Bahamut.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** Nagi from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragon'' is heavily implied to be the reincarnation of the Divine Dragon Naga, who was only mentioned before then.
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', people intially thought that Laslow, Selena and Odin where only rip-off of Inigo, Severa and Owain. Their Support Conversations and side-story confirms that they are actually said characters, who were sent to Nohr by a still lucid Anankos to protect his child.
*** An item example. The Omega Yato, which is the final stadium of the Yato, is actually the game's version of the Fire Emblem.
** ''VideoGame/TokyoMirageSessionsFE'':
*** The Mirage that possesses Gojuin at the beginning of the game is not revealed until the player reach Illusory Dolhr, where said Mirage turns out to be Garrick, the first boss in ''Awakening''.
*** It's not said who is Yasuhiro's Mirage when he's first seen transforming. Once recruited, it's revealed that it's the game's couterpart of Navarre from the Archanea games.
** The Book 3 of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' introduces two generals from Hel called Líf and Thrasir. Later in the story, it turns out the two are actually an alternate version of Alfonse and a future version of Veronica respectively.
* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3'' revolves around the character "Springtrap" which is revealed to be [[HauntedTechnology possessed by]] [[GreaterScopeVillain William]] [[SerialKiller Afton]], who killed the children that possessed the main antagonists and likely helped design them, although we do know he definitively designed the animatronics featured in ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation''. Although, his involvement with engineering wasn't clear yet.
** In ''VideoGame/FreddyFazbearsPizzeriaSimulator'', all of the four remaining animatronics are what's left of them after the fire at Fazbear's Fright. And three of them are very clearly old ones returning for one more go round with the nightguard, with Molten Freddy being the remains of Ennard, with Funtime Freddy now being in control, Scraptrap being what's left of Springtrap and Scrap Baby being what became of Circus Baby after getting kicked out of Ennard. The final one, however, is Lefty, who is seemingly a brand new character. At the end of the game, they are revealed to actually be [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2 the Puppet]], who was sealed in the new Lefty suit.
** Michael Afton, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation'', manages to top his father in this contest. In fact, he's actually Mike Schmidt, the protagonist of the first ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', who went under a fake alias.
* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'':
** [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Had the series continued under David Jaffe's vision]], Kratos would have been revealed to have been one of TheThreeWiseMen of Christian mythology.
** Kratos turns out to be a different canonical character by the [[VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 fourth game]] as the series' version of Fárbauti by virtue of being Loki's father and "Fárbauti" is Norse for "cruel striker". This in turn reveals Kratos' son Atreus to be the trickster Loki, [[Myth/NorseMythology who is responsible for causing Baldur's death and triggering Ragnarok.]]
* I-No was introduced in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear XX'' as one of the game's most mysterious characters, with no given background. ''-STRIVE-'' reveals one last bombshell to the mystery: she was Axl's girlfriend, Megumi, from one of the [[AlternateSelf countless timelines she's been part of]]; the same Megumi Axl spent the entire series looking for.
* ''VideoGame/Injustice2'': Being able to play as [[BigBad Brainiac]] in Arcade Mode and [[MirrorMatch have him fight himself]] at the end of it seems like the standard fighting MST3KMantra at play... only for the final cutscene to reveal that the playable Brainiac is actually the heroic Brainiac 5 from the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes.
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** Terra is one of the protagonists of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' and there is no mention of him in any of the previous games. However, ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' reveals that after his body was taken by Xehanort, he was turned into the Guardian, the Heartless that fought by Ansem in the first game.
** The two teens seen at the beginning of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' are revealed at the end of the game to be Eraqus and Xehanort when they were younger.
** Luxu, from ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX'', never shows his face in the game. Once again, ''III'' reveals that all this time, Luxu was actually Xigbar.
** Also from ''χ'', the finale of ''Union χ'' revealed that the PlayerCharacter chose to reincarnate instead of submitting to endless sleep like the other Keyblade wielders. The person they reincarnate into turns out to be [[BigBad Xehanort]].
* ''VideoGame/KingsQuest2015'' has a few examples of this, being a reimagining of the original series.
** Manny is introduced as one of the Knight Hopefuls who befriends the young Graham, but ends up becoming Chapter 1's main villain. Chapter 2 introduces a human who was SwitchedAtBirth by goblins and raised by them, who initially is only called "Goblin Man", and TheStinger of the episode has him teaming up with Manny. Chapter 3 reveals Manny to be a goblin himself, which you'd think would mean this trope wouldn't apply, until TheStinger, which has him drinking a potion to turn himself into an elderly human, implying he is Manannan, the main villain of ''King's Quest III''. Meanwhile the Goblin Man's real name is Mordon, and he and Manny regard each other as brothers due to being SwitchedAtBirth, making him Mordak, the villain of ''King's Quest V''. Chapter 4 confirms both of these.
** Chapter 3 retells the story of Graham meeting his future bride, except instead of one princess, [[BettyAndVeronica there's two, Vee and Neese.]] [[SchrodingersGun Whichever one he ends up romancing turns out to be]] Valanice, Graham's wife from the original games. The one he doesn't marry ends up becoming Queen Icebella.
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'' introduces as one of its new characters Krohnen, who has a similar appearance and moveset to K9999, a blatant CaptainErsatz of [[Manga/{{AKIRA}} Tetsuo Shima]] that last appeared in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002'' and got kicked out of its UpdatedRerelease. His team ending confirms that they are one and the same, with Krohnen taking on his current identity to avoid the wrath of his former employers.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** Ganon was established as the BigBad of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' and the GreaterScopeVillain of ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink''. The mysterious wizard Agahnim is presented as a new villain for Link to fight in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', but then it turns out that "Agahnim" is just an avatar that Ganon can speak and act through while inside the Dark World; Link's been fighting the King of Evil since the game started.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', new character Sheik is revealed to be [[KingIncognito Princess Zelda's disguise]] after she was forced into hiding by Ganondorf as a child.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', Tetra is revealed to be Princess Zelda's latest incarnation. The reason her name isn't Zelda is that Hyrule was flooded years ago putting an end to the royal family Tetra is descended from, which had a tradition of naming daughters "Zelda". Basically, her name would be Zelda and she would be a princess if she had a kingdom to rule over.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', the new incarnation of Link is taught sword techniques by a mysterious ghost swordsman called the Hero's Shade. WordOfGod has confirmed that the Shade is the spirit of the Link from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', the Hero of Time.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' take place at the very beginning of the ''Zelda'' timeline, so we see a few early versions of established elements.
*** When Link tempers the Goddess Sword, which he carries throughout the game, in all three Sacred Flames, it becomes the Master Sword.
*** The FinalBoss is the Demon King Demise, who Hylia fought against millennia ago. Link defeats him, but in his dying moments he places a curse on Link and Zelda that they'll be forever plagued by the incarnation of his hatred. This strongly implies that Demise is the original version of series antagonist Ganon.[[note]]You could say that makes him a Ganon Character All Along...[[/note]]
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' implies that Irene's grandmother is a now elderly Maple from the ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle]]'' games, given how her Lorulian counterpart is given the nickname "Mapes".
* ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' features a chicken-legged rabbit creature called "Little Birdie" encountered on the Bottle Ship several times. Despite its cute appearance and small size, it has an aggressive parasitic nature and leaves Samus spooked for reasons she can barely articulate. It later molts into a larger hairy lizard form and attacks Samus until it is fought off. Following its blood trail, she finds that the creature has molted again, and that its adult form is none other than Ridley, her ArchEnemy.
* While the Ancient Minister, the field leader of the Subspace Army in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'''s Subspace Emissary, appears to be an OriginalGeneration character, when his clothes burn off, it's revealed that he's actually [[VideoGame/RoboticOperatingBuddy R.O.B.]]
* ''VideoGame/TacticsOgreTheKnightOfLodis'', despite being a prequel to ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'' initially does not seem like it has any real connection to it. However, in the game's canonical ending, the protagonist of [=KoL=], Alphonse Loehir, has his name changed by the Pope to Lans Tartare, who is the primary antagonist of ''Tactics Ogre'' (the remake translates his first name as "Lanselot").
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', the new hero, Raiden, works with a guy known as Iroquois Pliskin. This is eventually revealed to be the code name of Solid Snake, the hero of the previous game. [[PaperThinDisguise Not that he was fooling anyone though.]]
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' (a prequel set some thirty years before the original game) stars Naked Snake, a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute of the series' protagonist Solid Snake. At the end of the game, Naked Snake receives the title of Big Boss, the BigBad of the original VideoGame/MetalGear1 games and Solid Snake's clone-father. Subverted in that it was a CaptainObviousReveal -- the game was known to be Big Boss's StartOfDarkness long before it was released.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'': The Patriots, the shady Bilderberg-esque group in control of the American government, is revealed to be your support team from ''Snake Eater''.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain inverts'' this trope and plays it straight; Venom Snake is ''not'' Big Boss, but a player-generated character who is then surgically altered to become the body double of Big Boss. At the same time, though, he technically ''is'' the canonical Big Boss, because he's the final boss from [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 the original game]]. Eli, meanwhile, is a Liquid Snake lookalike that doesn't share Snake's DNA because Venom Snake didn't get gene therapy to go with his Big Boss plastic face. Possibly the biggest character reveals of the series, even outdoing the above.
* ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'': The elven wraith turns out to be Celebrimbor, a character who figured heavily into the Ring's history.
* The sequel ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar'' reveals the protagonist Talion became one of the Nine Ringwraiths in service to Sauron in the GoldenEnding.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', the BigBad is unseen at first and not named beyond one initial. The game does hint at direct connections to the world of ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' as early as the third chapter, but it's not until later that it reveals that its antagonist is Porky Minch.
* One of the many villains in ''VideoGame/NamcoXCapcom'' is a Red Arremer Joker who serves as Astaroth's right hand man. It’s all but said that this Red Arremer is, in fact, Firebrand, having been promoted to Joker for all of his heroics to the Infernal Village.
* In ''VideoGame/SeaOfThieves'', the "A Pirate's Life" update, a crossover event which includes multiple characters from ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', introduces a new character called the Castaway, who acts as the quest giver for the storyline, and who knows a fair bit more than a seemingly random stranger should know about Jack Sparrow's exploits. That is, until Chapter 4 reveals that she's actually the sea goddess Calypso, one of Jack's allies and Davey Jones's former love interest.
* The true ending of ''VideoGame/SinAndPunishmentStarSuccessor'' reveals that the female protagonist, Kachi, is none other than Achi, the BigBad of the [[VideoGame/SinAndPunishment first game]].
* In ''Videogame/SilentHill3'' the player character Heather is eventually revealed to be the reincarnation of Alessa/Cheryl that Harry Mason rescued at the end of the first game.
* ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable: Ultra Deluxe'' does this with the Data Collector, the text that first appears on screen when asking to adjust the time and brightness sliders who plays a large role in the final ending as it's revealed to be a living entity. There are, however, several hints that they are/were Employee 432, the employee with numerous company complaints and suspicious {{Easter Egg}}s related to them.
* In a subtle version, the villain Hessonite from the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' spinoff game ''VideoGame/SaveTheLight'' bears a noted resemblance to Nephrite's unnamed commander in her flashback in "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E14MonsterReunion Monster Reunion]]". Much later, Nephrite names her commander as Hessonite in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E24LegsFromHereToHomeworld "Legs from Here to Homeworld"]]; her gem placement and eventual WordOfGod confirm that it's not just [[RaceNameBasis a Hessonite]], but ''that '' Hessonite.
* ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'' introduces players to zombie half-genie, Fillin the Blank, who is revealed to be Shantae's friend Rottytops near the endgame.
* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', the {{deuteragonist}} of the game is a proto-fiend called Aogami, an artifically-created demon with the power to fuse with humans and turning them into a [[HalfHumanHybrid Nahobino]]. Late in the game, said proto-fiend turns out to be Susano-O, a series staple demon and god of seas and storms of Japan.
* In ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerII'', each faction gets a pair of CanonForeigner advisors to help guide them in their quest for control of the Great Vortex. For the Dark Elves, the pair is a sorceress named Felicion and her unnamed Khainite Assassin partner. At the beginning of the final act, though, it's revealed that the Assassin is actually Shadowblade, long established in the lore and the tabletop as the greatest Khainite Assassin to have ever lived.
* The Switch version of ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' introduces a new secret boss named Mad Mew Mew, a life-sized doll possessed by a ghost. What some players may not realize is that the doll is actually possessed by the same ghost who possessed the Mad Dummy.
* In ''VideoGame/WhatRemainsOfEdithFinch'', it's heavily implied that Milton Finch is the King from Creator/GiantSparrow's first game, ''VideoGame/TheUnfinishedSwan''. However, it could possibly be a case of MaybeMagicMaybeMundane, as ''Edith Finch'' runs on that trope.
* ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' series:
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'': [[{{God}} The Architect]] is actually [[LiteralSplitPersonality the good half]] of Professor Klaus/[[BigBad Zanza]] from [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1 the first game]].
** ''[[UpdatedRerelease Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition]]'' returns the favor, by confirming the implications found in ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'' regarding Ontos, the third core of the Trinity Processor, actually being Alvis.
* ''VideoGame/YoshisNewIsland'' features Mr. Pipe, a seemingly alive Warp Pipe that aids Yoshi with various items should he not be doing well in levels. The ending eventually reveals Mr. Pipe to be Mario himself, who somehow managed to go back in time and met Yoshi and his baby version while in a Warp Pipe disguise. This comes also after the grown up version of Bowser also went back in time for reasons unknown.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'', a prequel to the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series features Literature/SherlockHolmes and incorporates elements of Holmes' mythos, actually takes pride in ''inverting'' this trope, possibly to make its mystery solutions [[NotHisSled more surprising for Holmes readers]].
** In the first game's second case, Grimesby Roylott, a canonical character from ''The Adventure of the Speckled Band'', turns out to be a disguise for 15 year old Russian ballerina Nikolina Pavlova, an original character. She's still the culprit though.
** The second game reveals that one of the first game's Holmesian characters wasn't who you thought he was. Namely, John H. Watson ''isn't'' the "Watson" of Holmes' stories, rather, the literary Watson was based on Yuujin Mikotoba, a Japanese medical professor who's Holmes' actual best friend and investigative partner in this universe.
** By extension Iris Watson isn't John Watson's daughter either, she turns out to be the child of a totally original character with a tangential connection to Holmsian canonicity, with her identity being the last surviving member of the Baskerville family from her mother's side.
** That said, the trope is somewhat played straight with street urchin Gina Lestrade, who at first seems to be just an InNameOnly nod to the [[TropeNamer trope-naming]] UsefulNotes/ScotlandYard [[InspectorLestrade detective of the same name]], but ends up being made into an actual detective in the sequel (albeit an in-training one).
** Eggert Benedict, the culprit of the first game's final case, is really Ashley ''Milverton'', the infamous blackmailer villain (though much more sympathetic).
** Klint Van Zieks is revealed in the final case to be the equivalent of Jack Stapleton/Rodger Baskerville, as he uses a hound to murder his victims and winds up creating a legend, like the original. Like Milverton, he is also given AdaptationalSympathy.
* [[ItWasHisSled Although well known now]], ''VisualNovel/KajiriKamuiKagura'' pulled a variation of this trope with its villainous group, the Yatsukahagi. These demonic entities are eventually revealed to be [[RogueProtagonist several members of the former main cast]] from ''VisualNovel/DiesIrae'' having become NecessarilyEvil in order to deal with [[OmnicidalManiac Hajun]]. The fact that the setting of ''Kajiri Kamui Kagura'' is set in a sort of medieval Japan while ''Dies Irae'' had a more contemporary setting makes this reveal all the more notable as it completely re-contextualizes how the two stories not only connect to each other, but with the greater series as a whole.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' fancomic ''[[Webcomic/DiamondInTheRoughAladdin Diamond in the Rough]]'' starts out with seemingly new protagonists, until TheReveal that they are the flying Carpet and the Tiger head of the Cave of Wonders in human form.
* In ''WebComic/ElGoonishShive'' an extra who [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2006-06-28 shows up]] in a flashback is dubbed "Shy Girl" and is [[https://www.egscomics.com/sketchbook/2006-06-30 well received by fans]] only to be [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2010-12-27 revealed]] as Rhoda sporting a different look.
* ''WebComic/SluggyFreelance'': In "Oceans Unmoving", where Bun-bun is trapped in Timeless Space and acts as a SpacePirate captain, he has a mysterious nemesis called Captain Blacksoul -- always hooded, apparently mechanical, super-strong, able to give even Bun-bun a hard time in combat, and somehow hell-bent on following Bun-bun, just as Bun-bun is determined to not have him do so. It turns out that Blacksoul is Bun-bun himself, after having been thrown out of time a second time, riding a floating robot. He's amnesiac about how he got out the first time, so he's trying to follow his old self home. He figures that, knowing himself, if he saw another of himself, he'd attack it expecting a trick, and also expecting that if it really was him it would have expected such a reaction. That's why he has to maintain the secret identity.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:WebVideo]]
* The ''WebVideo/TheDomReviews'' Terrence the Douchebag from Ravenclaw looked like an original character for The Dom's Harry Potter reviews, but he's heavily implied to be the obscure character "Terry Boot".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020'': One segment features the Warners being hunted by a man named Walter Grubb, who has captured all of the original cast of the original ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' save for a few, explaining their absence in the reboot. However, the Warners noticed one glaring omission from his collection and bring up said character being very unpopular with viewers to provoke him. Walter Grubb loses his temper and he turns out to be Chicken Boo, said character, in a costume and his plan was to remove all the characters out of spite for being left out.
* In the seventh episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'', the mysterious masked leader of the Firelights unmasks himself as Ekko.
* ''WesternAnimation/Ben102016'': In the first season finale, Ben unlocks a new alien, a Chimera Sui Generis he called "Gax". He meets another member of Gax's race named "Vil". Vil trains Ben to use his Gax form to its fullest but then absorbs Gax into himself. He reveals that the Omnitrix took his powers when it sampled his DNA, so he has regained his power and reveals his real name: [[BigBad Vilgax]].
* ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman'' introduces Dane Lislow, the head of the Special Crime Unit who becomes friends with Bruce Wayne. He later betrays him by attempting to assassinate him dressed up as Batman, framing him for random acts of terrorism. The real Batman catches up to him and Lislow claims that he did it to save his son, who is held hostage by Comicbook/{{Deathstroke}}. Lislow then seemingly dies in an explosion. Come the next episode, we find out that Lislow faked his death, doesn't have a son, or even exist. It was a fake identity, in the form of a SignificantAnagram, used by Slade Wilson a.k.a. Deathstroke himself.
* The final season of ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'' introduces a vampire antagonist named Varney, seemingly a reference to the ''Penny Dreadful'' character of the same name. Towards the end of the season, he reveals himself as recurring ''{{VideoGame/Castlevania}}'' boss Death.
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'':
** Lena is a teenager who befriends Webby and helps her fight off the Beagle Boys in her debut episode. The end of that same episode also has us learn that she's Magica De Spell's niece, making her the show's equivalent of Minima De Spell (a character from the 1987 show's RecursiveAdaptation). This turns into [[CompositeCharacter a double example]] when it's revealed Lena is also [[LivingShadow Magica's shadow]], a one-time antagonist from the 1987 cartoon.
** The dark, [[SkullForAHead skull-faced]] demon from the TitleSequence and the episode "[=McMystery=] at [=McDuck=] [=McManor=]!" turns out to be the ghost of Duckworth.
** An odd version with Jim Starling, a washed-up actor who played WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck on an old ShowWithinAShow and is even voiced by DW's original voice actor Creator/JimCummings. You just take it for granted that eventually, he's going to become Darkwing Duck for real. Then, in "The Duck Knight Returns!", it turns out he's a ''different'' Canonical Character All Along when he goes insane and becomes ''[[EvilCounterpart Negaduck]]''.
** Also in "The Duck Knight Returns!", a new actor is cast to play Darkwing Duck for the [[DarkerAndEdgier grim 'n gritty]] film reboot of the series, but after the events that lead to the movie's cancellation, Launchpad spurs him on to [[FakeRealTurn take up the mantle of Darkwing for real]]. When he autographs Launchpad's poster at the end, his name is finally revealed as Drake Mallard, Darkwing Duck's real name from the series. This is apparently ''not'' the civilian name of the character that Starling played, since Launchpad has never heard that name before.
** The Season Two finale "Moonvasion!" reveals that Scrooge's board of directors, led by Bradford Buzzard, are in fact the [[WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck F.O.W.L.]] High Command. Also, the Funzo employee from "Daytrip Of Doom!" is revealed to be the Phantom Blot.
** The [[MultiPartEpisode three-part]] SeriesFinale "The Last Adventure!" reveals one of the main characters to be another character from the ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse''. Specifically, Webby is April, one of Daisy Duck's three nieces from the comics. She, May and June (who were [[LastEpisodeNewCharacter just introduced in these episodes]]) are not related to Daisy in this continuity--rather, [[RelatedInTheAdaptation they're related to Scrooge himself]] through F.O.W.L.'s cloning (May and June being indirect clones, having been created through a feather Black Heron took from Webby during the events of "The Split Sword of Swanstantine!").
** Not to be outdone, Manny the Man Horse reveals himself to be this universe's version of [[WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}} Goliath]], complete with the show's theme song and the voice of Creator/KeithDavid.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction'', Space Cabbie is seen talking to his GPS, who has a very familiar voice. Come the end of the episode, and it's all but confirmed that the AI in question is none other than [[WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries Aya]].
* The ''WesternAnimation/IronManArmoredAdventures'' episode "The X-Factor" revolves around the kids befriending a mysterious NewTransferStudent named Annie Claremont, who is being hunted by ComicBook/{{Magneto}}. At the end of the episode, Annie reveals that she has been using an alias; her real name is ComicBook/JeanGrey.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfVoxMachina'' had quite the mass guessing going on when the Briarwoods put their victims on the Sun Tree, as the one mutilated to look like Vex is a dead ringer for Laudna in ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'''s third campaign. This was later confirmed, though it's unknown if the design was deliberate given production was underway before that campaign started.
* In ''LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace'', a ten-year-old orphan stowaways with some Padawans on a field trip. Since everyone else is wearing name tags, he finds some letter decals and puts "IAN" on his shirt. It's only at the end of the episode that Yoda addresses him by that name, at which point he looks down and realizes that he put the "H" in his name sideways. His name is Han Solo.
* The plot of ''WesternAnimation/{{MODOK|2021}}'' revolves around A.I.M. being bought out by a hip tech company called Grumblr. Near the end of the season, it turns out that Grumblr is actually part of Hexus the Living Corporation, an obscure antagonist from Creator/GrantMorrison's ''Marvel Boy'' mini-series.
* Downplayed in ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug''. The episode 'Rocketear' sees a character named Rena Furtive aiding the heroes at the beginning of the episode. When Ladybug meet up with her, it's revealed that she's Alya, but with a different costume and identity. Not that it wasn't easy to guess.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewBatmanAdventures'':
** One particularly sad episode has Tim Drake befriending a lost, frightened young girl who he names "Annie", as she can't remember where she came from. It's later revealed the girl is actually Clayface, or rather a fraction of him he formed from his body that suffered amnesia and adopted a new identity. She then remerges with the rest of Clayface to save Tim, something he doesn't take well.
** Another one introduces a gavel-wielding vigilante named the Judge, who enacts violent justice on Gotham's underworld, including Two-Face. The ending reveals the Judge is a new third personality of Harvey's created by the conflict in his own mind.
* ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'':
** The episode "The Gumbus" features an internet celebrity named "Stockboy" attacked by the titular ghost. When Mikey, Leo, and April investigate, it turns out Stockboy is just making a hoax with advanced robots he built to attract subscribers. He vows revenge on them for foiling his plot, announcing his full name as ''Baxter'' Stockboy, revealing him to be the series' take on long-time Turtles' villain, Baxter Stockman.
** There is a movie star named Lou Jitsu whom the Turtles idolize and emulate. It is later revealed that Lou Jitsu is a stage name, he himself is actually Hamato Yoshi, the human form of Master Splinter.
** Flashbacks explaining the Shredder's history show him being defeated by a mysterious woman. "Shreddy or Not" reveals she's the series incarnation of Karai.
** A female member of the Foot, simply listed in the credits as "Foot Recruit" is ultimately revealed in the finale to be a {{Gender Flip}}ped version of Casey Jones. [[DecompositeCharacter The thing is]], Casey himself still exists - just not in the present day, but rather in the BadFuture, as the BigDamnMovie indicates.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' managed to pull this off within its own series. One episode features a documentary filmmaker interviewing Springfield residents as children. At one point, a lot of focus is placed on a random girl named Eleanor, who strives to become a lawyer and a doctor. She actually pulls this off, but the burnout turns her into the Crazy Cat Lady.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'': The "Six Forgotten Warriors" storyline introduced the ComicBook/RedSkull having a son named Rheinholt Schmidt, who disguised himself as Russian police chief named Rheinholt Kragov. Upon freeing his father and finding a doomsday weapon he built, Red Skull uses it on his son, granting him electrical powers and giving him a new identity, Electro.
* ''WesternAnimation/StretchArmstrongAndTheFlexFighters'': Only Stretch Armstrong and his ArchEnemy Stretch Monster are pre-existing characters, everyone else is an original character created for the series. However, Stretch's boss and benefactor, Jonathan Rook, turns out to not be as original as perceived. He's revealed to be Stretch Monster's civilian identity.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'', Agent Bishop creates a half-cybernetic clone of himself called the Slayer. At the end of his introduction, the Slayer is left defeated and is washed underground, but returns in the following season as the show's incarnation of the Rat King.
* Done routinely on ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012''. Most of the major mutants in the franchise have had their origin stories totally revamped. Characters will get slimed by mutagen and the Turtles (particularly Mikey) will give them a nickname that matches an established mutant from another continuity.
** The Shredder's apprentice Chris Bradford undergoes two mutations. At first he's a mutant named Dogpound, but upon a second exposure to mutagen he becomes the slimmer, more wolf-like mutant Rahzar from the first film series.
** At first, the Pulverizer appears to an {{Expy}} of Zach, a character from the 1987 series who idolized the Turtles. However, he's exposed to mutagen and becomes an acidic blob that Mikey later dubs Mutagen Man.
** Raph's pet tortoise Spike becomes the mutant Slash after walking into mutagen.
** A nameless garbage worker frequently appeared as a hapless victim to mutants before season 3, where his name is revealed as Garson Grunge, turning into the mutant Muckman.
** Ivan Steranko, a Russian arms dealer, and Anton Zeck, a master thief, were recurring enemies to the Turtles before Shredder had them mutated. Zeck became a warthog while Steranko became a rhino. In the next episode, Mikey calls them Bebop and Rocksteady.
** At first, the scientist Victor Falco appeared to have no real relevance in his introduction and seemed to be just a one-shot villain. In his second appearance, an explosion during an experiment with mutagen turns him into the series' take on long-time TMNT villain, the Rat King.
** We learn early on that prior to Splinter's mutation, he had a daughter named Miwa who supposedly died alongside his wife in a fire. In the first season finale, it is revealed that she is still alive and has been raised by The Shredder under the name Karai.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'':
** A WholeEpisodeFlashback introduces Longarm, an Autobot who Bumblebee was in boot camp with. At the end of the episode, back in the present day, he is revealed to be a deep-cover Decepticon spy and this continuity's version of Shockwave, disguised by use of a second robot mode.
** From the same episode, Wasp (the first character in the franchise with that name) ends up imprisoned and goes insane. In a later episode, he is transformed into a large wasp-like machine and goes by the name Waspinator, same as the character from ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''.
** The episode "Velocity" introduces a mysterious character who appears in a cyan racing car, and they aid Bumblebee at the end of the episode by saving him from Blitzwing. "A Bridge too Close, Part 1" reveals this mysterious blue racer to be none other than TFA's version of Blurr.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015'': The High Council is led by an Autobot who would be revealed to be named Cyclonus. One would think the name is just a coincidence, as it's quite common for names being reused in the franchise for characters who have little in common with each other. The final arc reveals the High Council are actually Decepticons, and Cyclonus himself looks exactly like his G1 namesake, thus making him an actual depiction of the character.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' four-parter "Beyond Good and Evil", when Bishop gets trapped in the timestream, and discovers Comicbook/{{Apocalypse}} has set up a fortress there, he is continually annoyed by a crazed, ragged figure called Bender, who claims to be the janitor of the timestream. After everyone has left, Bender reveals himself to be [[Comicbook/KangTheConqueror Immortus]], and laughs to himself about the show he put on to get Bishop where he needed to be.
* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'':
** The first season introduces a device called Sphere, which turns out to be the Super-Cycle device used by the team in the comics.
** In the second season, [[ComicBook/BlueBeetle Jaime Reyes]] has a CanonForeigner friend named Tye Longshadow. Tye and a group of other teens are later kidnapped by the Reach, who are experimenting on human children in order to activate their dormant superpowers. After Tye and some of the other teens are rescued by the heroes, he is revealed to be the show's version of [[WesternAnimation/SuperFriends Apache Chief]] (though a hint is given in the fact that his last name is that of the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' version of the same character, down to having the same voice actor), with the other survivors turning out to be ComicBook/{{Static}} (due to the fact ComicBook/BlackLightning, whom Black Vulcan was a CaptainErsatz of, already exists as a separate hero in-universe), El Dorado and Samurai (the last one being a GenderFlip). Ed Dorado, the El Dorado {{Expy}} fully became this in the revival, ''Outsiders'', taking up the codename "El Dorado".
** Speaking of the third season, the episode "Rescue Op" depicts a mysterious red ninja working for Ra's al Ghul who ends up fighting Nightwing when he and the team go in to rescue Halo, Geo-Force, Forager, and Sphere. After the heroes leave, Ra's asks the ninja if his memories have returned after fighting Nightwing, to which ninja remarks "Gray...son". Coupled with the fact that the credits list him as "''Red Hooded'' Ninja", and it's all but confirmed he is [[ComicBook/RedHood Jason Todd]].
** In Season Four, the time traveler who interfered with the gene bomb and got ComicBook/{{Superboy|1994}} trapped in the Phantom Zone is revealed to be Lor-Zod, son of the infamous [[KneelBeforeZod General Zod]].
** A torture device used by Lor-Zod in his mission, the Kaiser Thrall, was taken to Oa, revealed to contain a metahuman boy from Earth, and returned to Earth. When Miss Martian established telepathic communication with the boy, she revealed his name: [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Danny Chase]].
[[/folder]]

* Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}'' Retconned the original 50s adventures as dreams induced via LotusEaterMachine. However one part of those stories is true. The main bad guy of the original comics, and the man behind the curtain of the Miracleman project is Dr. Emil Gargunza.
* Creator/GrantMorrison's ''ComicBook/NewXMen'' run featured a bunch of new characters, with the most prominent being the Chinese Buddhist Xorn. Then in the twist near the end, it turns out that Xorn was ComicBook/{{Magneto}} in disguise the whole time. Since this version of Magneto was a genocidal junkie (and by the end of the run, was thoroughly dead), the controversy was enough that Marvel's editors decided to retcon Xorn into not being the true Magneto the instant Grant Morrison left. Professor X went to Genosha to bury Magneto and found...Magneto. Excalibur Genosha begins, the HoYay between the two as they lead the new team in saving what's left of Genosha skyrockets, and in ''that'' title, Xorn is never brought up again. However, in the other books, who Xorn ''really'' was rapidly became a ContinuitySnarl, most infamously being twin brothers with similar names (Shen Xorn and Kuan-Yin Xorn).
* ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures ComicBook/SpiderMan'' #57 opens with Spidey being attacked by a mysterious new villainess called the Silencer. Halfway through the issue, it's discovered that the Silencer is actually ComicBook/EmmaFrost, who joined the book's supporting cast several issues prior.
* ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'':
** In the one-shot comic ''The Cell'', Frank menaces imprisoned members of the Drago mafia family for an unknown reason. At the end, it's revealed that the Drago is an AdaptationNameChange for the Costa family: i.e., the mafia family that [[YouKilledMyFather killed Frank's family]].
** The Heavy from "Girls in White Dresses" turned out to be the series' version of Punisher's {{archenemy}} Jigsaw.
* The Swordsman seen in ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'' had nothing to do with Jacques Duquesne or Philip Javert. When the world was revisited in the ''Heroes Reborn: Remnants'' one-shot, it was revealed he was his Earth's version of ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}.
* ''ComicBook/{{Powerless}}'' takes place in an alternate, more realistic version of the Marvel Universe, and stars non-powered versions of [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]], [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} Logan]] and [[ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} Matt Murdock]]. The central viewpoint character, however, is a psychiatrist named William Watts, who somehow remembers the mainline Marvel Universe where those three characters are costumed superheroes. How he knows this isn't explained until the very end of the series, where, after an [[ImportantHaircut Important Shave]], William looks into his bathroom mirror and sees [[TheWatcher Uatu the Watcher]] staring back at him.
* In the ''ComicBook/New52'' version of ''ComicBook/SecretSix'', only Catman and Black Alice return from the previous continuity. Strix and the new Ventriloquist come from ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'' and Porcelain and Big Shot appear to be entirely original. Over the first few issues it's established that Big Shot is a PrivateInvestigator, has [[RubberMan the ability to expand in size and a rubbery face]], is obsessed with his late wife, and has a sensitive nose. Oh, and Mockingbird calls him "Mr Dibney". It is later revealed that he is, indeed, the world-famous ComicBook/ElongatedMan.
* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'''s Malcolm Merlyn/the Dark Archer was always established as the Arrowverse counterpart of Arthur King/Merlyn the Archer. However, the comic spin-off ''The Dark Archer'' establishes that his real name was actually Arthur King all along.
* A Marvel miniseries called ''Battle Scars'' (an epilogue to ''ComicBook/FearItself'') introduced a black Marine named Marcus Johnson and his war buddy nicknamed "Cheese". The event eventually revealed that Marcus is the son of ComicBook/NickFury and therefore the mainstream continuity's equivalent of the Creator/SamuelLJackson-style Fury introduced in ComicBook/UltimateMarvel and popularized by the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse; and that Cheese is Phil Coulson (also from the MCU).
* ''The Dead Man'' appeared in ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' featuring a burnt amnesiac being left for dead and subsequently heading off to find out who he is. He discovers that he's ComicBook/JudgeDredd who had taken the Long Walk and was attacked by the Sisters Of Death. To keep the secret, ''Dredd'' strips were still run concurrently and the ''Dead Man'' story was credited to [[PenName Keef Ripley]]. ''ComicBook/LobsterRandom'' and ''ComicBook/SinisterDexter'' homaged this storyline using similar techniques.
* In Creator/DonnyCates's ''ComicBook/{{Thanos}}'' run, we're introduced to Cosmic Ghost Rider, a wacky cosmic variant of ComicBook/GhostRider. His personality and design doesn't match up with any of the previous Ghost Riders, so he seems to be a new character. Thanos eventually asks if they know each other, since the Rider seems oddly familiar. Realizing he forgot to introduce himself, the Rider sticks out his hand and says his name: [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Frank Castle]].
* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'':
** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''
*** One issue has ComicBook/NickFury going undercover to infiltrate ComicBook/{{HYDRA}}, where he befriends a deeply conflicted young henchwoman called "Nails." In the following issue, he's able to convince Nails to defect from HYDRA and join the Howling Commandos, and asks her what her real name is. She turns out to be the Ultimate version of Abigail Brand, a character from the ''ComicBook/XMen'' comic books.
*** A throwaway line from Kleiser in the first arc confirms that the shapeshifting Chitauri are in fact the Ultimate versions of the Skrulls, the word being one of the many names the race had been given over their centuries of interdimensional conquest. Note that the Skrulls were adapted later on in ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour''.
** When [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] was first created by Creator/StanLee and Creator/JackKirby, he had two identities: he was the human doctor Donald Blake, and could turn into Thor ByThePowerOfGrayskull. When remade for ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'', Thor is just Thor. Blake appears, as an unrelated person, in ''ComicBook/UltimateThor''. As seen later, Donald Blake is still the human identity of a god, but in this case it's Balder the Brave.
** ''ComicBook/AllNewUltimates'': The comic features a gang war, opposed by the Ultimates in the superhero way, and a police unit the standard way. This police unit would eventually become Terror Inc. (an obscure 1988 comic book).

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'': The ''Secrets and Lies'' miniseries (published by Creator/IDWPublishing, but taking place in the same continuity as the Marvel Comics series) has a weird variation: established, but absent from the original run characters Fastlane and Cloudraker crash on Earth in England, getting involved in a viking raid and heavily damaged to the point of unrecognisability, becoming the Man of Iron from his eponymous story and the [[ReusedCharacterDesign identical looking]] navigator from the same.
* ''ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}}'': Tim ends up tracking down an apparent new female vigilante wearing purple and thinks he sees Spoiler, only to discover he's tracking a new player who goes by Violet, only then to discover someone wearing the Spoiler costume is ''also'' tracking Violet. He's furious at the stranger behind the mask for dressing up as his beloved deceased girlfriend, disrespecting her memory and messing with him but then learns it actually is Stephanie, whose death was retconned to have been faked in this storyline.

* The main character of Creator/DynamiteComics' MassiveMultiplayerCrossover ''Legenderry'' is Magda, sister to ComicBook/RedSonja, who is being pursued by the villains for unknown reasons as she searches for her sister. It turns out she's Sonja herself, who was given FalseMemories by the villains a year earlier to make her more tractable.
* ''ComicBook/GIJoeDevilsDue'' did this with the nameless S.A.W. Viper who killed Quick Kick, Doc, Heavy Metal, Thunder and Crankcase back in [[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel the original Marvel comic]] when he returned and was revealed to have survived Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's attempt at killing him. The S.A.W. Viper's actual name is given as Robert Skelton, but he ends up taking on the codename Overkill, a name belonging to a Cobra cyborg whose only prior appearances in any ''G.I. Joe'' fiction were in the [=DiC=] continuation of ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero''. To seal the deal, the Overkill of the Devil's Due continuity is eventually made into a cyborg himself.
* ''Marvels X'' stars a new character named David Jarrett, a young boy who has seemingly failed to develop superpowers despite being exposed to the [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Terrigen Mist]]. In the final issue, David is killed in battle while helping Captain America, and his body is buried. However, Nighthawk then digs up the coffin to reveal that David is alive and well, explaining that the Terrigen gas actually gave him ResurrectiveImmortality in the form of a powerful HealingFactor. The final pages then jump forward into the future, revealing that David eventually grows up to become the mysterious new ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} (whose identity was never revealed) from the original ''ComicBook/EarthX''.

* In the 2018 ''Comicbook/{{Catwoman}}'' series, Selina encounters and befriends a group of homeless teen runaways who live in her old neighborhood of Alleytown. One of the kids is an Asian pickpocket known only as Shoes, who initially seems to be a new character like the others. However, the ''DC Festival of Heroes'' one-shot reveals she's an amnesiac Lian Harper, the daughter of Roy Harper and Cheshire, who was previously thought to have been {{RetGone}}d out of existence by the Comicbook/{{New 52}} reboot.
* ''ComicBook/GothamAcademy'' Annual does this twice. The series likes to make teachers share similar names and be lookalikes to DCAU versions of Batman villains, without ever confirming outright if they're those villains or not. One of the main cast members ropes a young redheaded boy named Warren into being his errand boy. In the Annual mysterious new teacher Derek Powers turns out to actually ''be'' Derek "Blight" Powers from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' who traveled back in time to kill Warren, last name [=McGinnis=] - he's going to grow up to become the father of future Batman, Terry [=McGinnis=].
* ''ComicBook/Exiles2018'' introduced among new characters Becky Barnes, a gay [[GenderFlip female]] version of Comicbook/BuckyBarnes from a reality where [[Characters/CaptainAmericaSupportingCharacters Peggy Carter]] is Captain America. ''ComicBook/FutureFoundation'' would later reveal that Becky is actually one of the reincarnations of Rikki Barnes, a preexisting heroine from [[ComicBook/HeroesReborn a different world]] who has been dying and being reborn as vaguely similar characters across the multiverse.
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' has a history of red herrings on this.
** When the mysterious "Reflecto" appeared and focused mainly on protecting Phantom Girl, the covers hinted that he was really her long-missing lover Ultra-Boy. But once unmasked, it was Superboy.
** New member Sensor Girl wears a mask, and revealed her identity only to Saturn Girl. [[note]]Might as well, since the latter is a telepath[[/note]]. Various clues lead Brainic 5 to conclude that Sensor Girl was in fact ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, returned from the dead. But once unmasked, it was Projectra, returned to our dimension.
* In ''ComicBook/ActionComicsNew52'', Clark's landlady is an elderly woman named Mrs Nyxly, who says her husband was a stage magician before a rival put him in a coma. She also mentions that his trademark was a purple derby hat. Yes, she's actually the New 52 version of Mr Mxyzpltk's girlfriend Miss Gsptlnz, now given the full name Nyxlygsptlnz.
* In ''Batman: Urban Legends'' #5, a Batgirls story features a new "wildcard" character of unclear allegiance, who turns out to be a young African-American woman. At the end of the story, with the Batgirls still unclear on who she is or what her agenda is, the last panel shows her standing in front of a camper van with a potted plant in the window, and "Ryan Was Here" graffitied on the wall behind her, all indicating that she's a CanonImmigrant version of [[Series/{{Batwoman}} Ryan Wilder]].
* ''ComicBook/WayOfX'' features someone the children of Krakoa call the Patchwork Man, who runs around the island toying with the minds of the mutants living on it. After Legion is brought in and gets a crack at him, it's revealed the Patchwork Man is in fact the universally-feared longtime X-men foe Onslaught.
* Near the end of ''ComicBook/GIJoe2019'', Dr. Mindbender is shown to have a female assistant who questions his decisions. As the story goes on, it is revealed that she is affiliated with G.I. Joe and is infiltrating Cobra as TheMole, in addition to being in a relationship with Frontier (this continuity's interpretation of Flint). To remove any remaining doubts of her true identity, the last panel of the issue has Frontier identity her as Lady Jaye.
* ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'': Boomerang gets a girlfriend, who remains a nameless side character until the final issue reveals that we've seen her before. She's Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, and she hooked up with Boomerang to steal the {{Macguffin}} he was after.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeSocietyWorldWarII'':
** Early into the film, Flash meets the JSA war correspondent Shakespeare and finds his face oddly familiar. Flash's deja vu is ultimately vindicated when during their raid on the codebreaker's prison, Shakespeare gets shot in the head three times and survives, then gives his real name: [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]].
** Even later into the film, Aquaman's Advisor is revealed to be longtime villain Psycho-Pirate.

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''

* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse:

* ''Film/JamesBond''

* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:

* ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'':
** ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' introduced, among the apes under Caesar, a bonobo named Koba and an orangutan named Maurice, who seemed initially to be wholly original characters. In the next movie, ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', however, Koba starts plotting against Caesar out of mistrust for the latter's willingness to coexist with humans, while Maurice serves as Caesar's primary scientific and moral advisor, establishing them as equivalent characters to, respectively, Aldo and Virgil from ''Film/BattleForThePlanetOfTheApes'', of which ''Dawn'' is more-or-less a remake.
** Caesar's infant son was unnamed in ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', but the next film, ''Film/WarForThePlanetOfTheApes'' revealed his name to be Cornelius, who was one of the chimpanzees who helped Taylor in the original ''Film/{{Planet of the Apes|1968}}'' film. A downplayed example, however, since Cornelius was [[DeadGuyJunior also]] the name of Caesar's son in ''Film/BattleForThePlanetOfTheApes''.
** The young, mute girl who the apes come across in ''War'' is later given the name "Nova" by Maurice, the same name given to Taylor's mute love interest in the original 1968 film.

* ''Literature/OutlawsShadow'' features several original characters to fill out RobinHood’s EvilCounterpart Guy of Gisbourne’s surrounding cast, but two of them are tricks pulled on Guy and the audience: the Merry Men’s MasterSwordsman Finch [[MythologyGag Fitzwalter]] is actually Maid Marian, and Friar Tuck’s [[TheGadfly goofy]] and seemingly French companion [[MeaningfulName Dismas]] is actually Robin Hood.

* ''Comicbook/{{Powerless}}'' takes place in an alternate, more realistic version of the Marvel Universe, and stars non-powered versions of [[Comicbook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]], [[Comicbook/{{Wolverine}} Logan]] and [[Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} Matt Murdock]]. The central viewpoint character, however, is a psychiatrist named William Watts, who somehow remembers the mainline Marvel Universe where those three characters are costumed superheroes. How he knows this isn't explained until the very end of the series, where, after an [[ImportantHaircut Important Shave]], William looks into his bathroom mirror and sees [[TheWatcher Uatu the Watcher]] staring back at him.
* In the ComicBook/{{New 52}} version of ''ComicBook/SecretSix'', only Catman and Black Alice return from the previous continuity. Strix and the new Ventriloquist come from Simone's ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2011}}'' and Porcelain and Big Shot appear to be entirely original. Over the first few issues it's established that Big Shot is a PrivateInvestigator, has [[RubberMan the ability to expand in size and a rubbery face]], is obsessed with his late wife, and has a sensitive nose. Oh, and Mockingbird calls him "Mr Dibney". It is later revealed that he is, indeed, the world-famous ComicBook/ElongatedMan.

** New member Sensor Girl wears a mask, and revealed her identity only to Saturn Girl. [[note]]Might as well, since the latter is a telepath[[/note]]. Various clues lead Brainic 5 to conclude that Sensor Girl was in fact Supergirl, returned from the dead. But once unmasked, it was Projectra, returned to our dimension.
* In ''Comicbook/ActionComicsNew52'', Clark's landlady is an elderly woman named Mrs Nyxly, who says her husband was a stage magician before a rival put him in a coma. She also mentions that his trademark was a purple derby hat. Yes, she's actually the New 52 version of Mr Mxyzpltk's girlfriend Miss Gsptlnz, now given the full name Nyxlygsptlnz.

** ''Series/{{Supergirl|2015}}'': Season Three features a sinister, nameless witch who exists as an interactive {{hologram}} and pushes Samantha Arias into becoming Reign, then further manipulates her and the other two Worldkillers to bring about the cleansing of Earth. In the twentieth episode, Kara and Mon-El arrive in Argo City, where the witch turns out to be alive, a member of the High Council, and named Selena; she's this universe's version of the BigBad from the ''Film/{{Supergirl}}'' movie.

** A female member of the Foot, simply listed in the credits as "Foot Recruit" is ultimately revealed in the finale to be a {{Gender Flip}}ped Casey Jones.

*** The Mirage that possesses Gojin at the beginning of the game is not revealed until the player reach Illusory Dolhr, where said Mirage turns out to be Garrick, the first boss in ''Awakening''.

* ''Fanfic/SixesAndSevens'' introduces original character Emily, but the prologue implies and a later chapter confirms that she's actually this fic's version of Jacqueline Falsworth.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' actually manages to do this with Gilgamesh within its own continuity. Gilgamesh is met as himself early on in the Hildibrand sidequests after ARR. Come Stormblood's leg of the sidequests, it's revealed that Yojimbo, who is otherwise the boss of the Kugane Castle dungeon, is Gilgamesh in disguise. Likewise, the [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]] is strongly hinted to be some otherwordly being, especially when [[BigBad Emet-Selch]] mistakes them for Azem, who was a friend they used to know back in the ancient days. It's later confirmed that the Warrior of Light is a reincarnation of Azem, meaning the player has been Azem from the very moment they created their new character in the character creation menu.

** ''Series/MsMarvel2022'': The bangle that Ms. Marvel wields to gain her powers [[spoiler:swaps her and Captain Marvel in TheStinger, revealing it to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of the Nega-Bands that swapped Mar-Vell and Rick Jones in older comics.]]

LongRunners often face the challenge of keeping established characters fresh. Sometimes, the audience gets bored with a particular character. Sometimes, the writer ran out of fresh situations to give to that character. And sometimes, the writer wants to reimagine or explore new depths of a character, but finds it challenging to convince fans to give their interpretation a chance ([[ToughActToFollow especially if one depiction of a character is seen as the standard for all subsequent depictions of that character to follow]]). For whatever reason, a writer wants to develop new material involving certain characters but doesn't want to run the risk of either beating a dead horse or [[BrokenBase dividing the fanbase]].

One solution that writers have utilized is to write a story that features those established characters...albeit in the guise of someone completely different. Sometimes, they have the name of another character, but act nothing like them. More often, they don't look like any famous character from the main work's canon nor even have that recognizable name. If done well, fans will speculate who that "mysterious character" is. Maybe they don't believe that the "new" character would be anyone special. Maybe they will think that the "new" character is a BadassNormal with a MysteriousPast. Or maybe they'll think that the "new" character will be a groundbreaking addition to a work's mythos. But, if done successfully, [[TemptingFate fans will certainly not think that]] [[OverlyLongGag "new" character]] is someone already established in a work's canon.

Until one day...[[WhamEpisode Wham!]] It turns out they were a canon character after all!

Compare with RedHerringShirt. Sometimes overlaps with AdaptationNameChange or HijackedByGanon. If the twist is two separate canon characters being one and the same in the adaptation, then it's CompositeCharacter.

* In the crossover fanfic ''[[FanFic/TheDarkLordsOfNerima The Dark Lords Ascendant]]'', Manga/SailorMoon and the Senshi face off against CorruptCorporateExecutive Tanizaki, who wishes to claim Sailor Moon's powers for himself, and is revealed as the reason the Great Freeze would have happened had he targeted Endymion's Golden Crystal first. In the FinalBattle against his organization, Manga/{{Ranma|OneHalf}} figures out that since Tanizaki was TheUnfettered, he wouldn't have given up his goal for power when the Great Freeze happened. Remembering that Tanazaki's company was working on spacecraft that could traverse the solar system, Ranma realized in the original timeline that Tanazaki fled the frozen Earth to the planet Nemesis so he could claim the power there, only to become the Death Phantom, one of the canon {{Arc Villain}}s of ''Sailor Moon''.

** PlayedWith in regards to Chow (Lui Kang's brother) and Kojin (Earthrealm's fire god), who are mentioned in canon and the latter appears in a [[VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero spinoff game]], but they never appear in a main line game. But this story reveals that they were [[spoiler: the unidentified warrior and flaming man seen in the background of The Pitt II in VideoGame/MortalKombatII]].

** J.A.R.V.I.S. ''becomes'' a canon character in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' when he is converted into ComicBook/TheVision. InUniverse, he's also ''based'' on the MCU version of a canon character, the actual [[Series/AgentCarter Edwin Jarvis]], who in this continuity is ''Howard'' Stark's butler instead of Tony's.

* Mewtwo features heavily in ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'', with footage of scientists recently and locally studying old fossils of Mew suggesting he's a new clone created for this story. And much like the canon Mewtwo, he is very heavily under the impression that HumansAreBastards. Nope, turns out he's the Mewtwo from Kanto 20 years ago, having already undergone his CharacterDevelopment, and the various clips through the movie were trimmed to paint him as the bad guy. This was intentional on the BigBad's part.

* Creator/JaneYolen's Arthurian novel ''Sword of the Rightful King'' includes a character named Gawen who comes to Cadbury and gets a job as Merlinnus' assistant. He winds up getting as much focus as the canon characters before the end, when we find out that he is actually a [[SweetPollyOliver crossdressing]] Guinevere.

*** The mysterious masked man from the second half of Season Two turns out to be none other than Jay Garrick, the original Flash in the comics. Furthermore, Jay is the Earth-3 doppelganger of Earth-1's Henry Allen, Barry's father. Meanwhile, Earth-2's "Jay Garrick" turns out to be the BigBad Hunter Zolomon/Zoom putting on an act (and later making use of a time remnant to fake his own death), making him, like "Adrian Chase" above, a ''different'' canon character than the one he was presented as.[[note]]This portrayal was a bit InNameOnly by virtue of being more like the Rival (as a Velocity 9 powered speedster rather than having [[TimeStandsStill time slowing powers]]), the only thing in common with the original Zoom being the character's name and civilian identity.[[/note]]

*** Andrew Garner, May's husband, is nothing more that a regular psychoanalyst and professor - until at some point between seasons 2 and 3 he became an [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Inhuman]], a canon supervillain named Lash (whose human identity in the comics is someone else, as with Deathlok).

** Zigzagged with the man who attacked Fred in the Season One finale. Season Two reveals that the assailant is the show's version of Black Hood, but it turns out that his true identity isn't anyone who took on the mantle of the Black Hood in the comics, but rather [[CompositeCharacter fellow canon character Hal Cooper]].

** Also inverted: after spending several seasons with ComicBook/JimmyOlsen, he's killed off and we find out that his hereto unseen ''brother'' will become the canon character. [[OneSteveLimit As it turns out, the name he was identified by was his middle name]], his first name was Henry. His younger brother has the actual canon name.

** The main antagonist of the series, Lady Arkham, turned out to be a canon character, though few people probably expected that said character was Vicki Vale.

** Kratos turns out to be a different canon character by the [[VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 fourth game]] as the series' version of Fárbauti by virtue of being Loki's father and "Fárbauti" is Norse for "cruel striker". This in turn reveals Kratos' son Atreus to be the trickster Loki, [[Myth/NorseMythology who is responsible for causing Baldur's death and triggering Ragnarok.]]

* ''VideoGame/TacticsOgreTheKnightOfLodis'', despite being a prequel to ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'' initially does not seem like it has any real connection to it. However, in the game's canon ending, the protagonist of [=KoL=], Alphonse Loehir, has his name changed by the Pope to Lans Tartare, who is the primary antagonist of ''Tactics Ogre'' (the remake translates his first name as "Lanselot").

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain inverts'' this trope and plays it straight; Venom Snake is ''not'' Big Boss, but a player-generated character who is then surgically altered to become the body double of Big Boss. At the same time, though, he technically ''is'' the canon Big Boss, because he's the final boss from [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 the original game]]. Eli, meanwhile, is a Liquid Snake lookalike that doesn't share Snake's DNA because Venom Snake didn't get gene therapy to go with his Big Boss plastic face. Possibly the biggest character reveals of the series, even outdoing the above.

** In the first game's second case, Grimesby Roylott, a canon character from ''The Adventure of the Speckled Band'', turns out to be a disguise for 15 year old Russian ballerina Nikolina Pavlova, an original character. She's still the culprit though.

** By extension Iris Watson isn't John Watson's daughter either, she turns out to be the child of a totally original character with a tangential connection to Holmsian canon, with her identity being the last surviving member of the Baskerville family from her mother's side.

** An odd version with Jim Starling, a washed-up actor who played WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck on an old ShowWithinAShow and is even voiced by DW's original voice actor Creator/JimCummings. You just take it for granted that eventually, he's going to become Darkwing Duck for real. Then, in "The Duck Knight Returns!", it turns out he's a ''different'' Canon Character All Along when he goes insane and becomes ''[[EvilCounterpart Negaduck]]''.

* The Book 3 of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' introduces two generals from Hel called Líf and Thrasir. Later in the story, it turns out the two are actually an alternate version of Alfonse and a future version of Veronica respectively.

One of the Kytin females that flee the destruction of their hive in chapter thirty, is revealed at the end to be D'vorah.
PlayedWith with Chow (Lui Kang's brother) and Kojin (Earthrealm's fire god), who are mentioned in canon and the latter appears in a [[VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero spinoff game]], but they never appear in a main line game. But this story reveals that they were [[spoiler: the unidentified warrior and flaming man seen in the background of The Pitt II in VideoGame/MortalKombatII]].

** An {{inverted|trope}} version of this happens with Shimashima. In the [[Anime/ReCREATORS canon]], Shimashima was mentioned once in a flashback by Setsuna and never appeared in the show. Thanks in part to a mixture of OCStandIn and AscendedExtra, Shimashima ends up taking a ''much'' larger role before eventually being revealed to be [[spoiler:Yuusuke Shimazaki, an original character who was Setsuna's father]].

* One episode of ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'' introduces a new character known as Silas, a GentlemanThief that is now seemingly imprisoned. He spends the whole episode monologing to someone who is taking care of him but can't understand him, and the only connection this episode has to the rest of the show is him mentioning to his caretaker that "you probably haven't even left Night Vale". Until the last line of the episode: [[spoiler: "And for the last time, my name is Silas, [[not BalefulPolymorph]] [[TeamPet Kosheck]]!"]]

* In the ''VideoGame/Persona5'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/29086554 The God Complex]]'', the Phantom Thieves [[SparedByTheAdaptation (and Akechi)]] find themselves in a copy of Tokyo, with an entity telling them they must clear seven Palaces created from the twisted desires of their own numbers. As they clear the Palaces, they soon realize that the entity sounds like Dr. Maruki, the counselor from Shuijin Academy who had his own Palace. They eventually learn that Maruki has been possessed by [[BigBad Yaldaboth]], who had survived in his weakened state and seaks revenge on the Pahntom Thieves.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' four-parter "Beyond Good and Evil", when Comicbook/{{Bishop}} gets trapped in the timestream, and discovers Comicbook/{{Apocalypse}} has set up a fortress there, he is continually annoyed by a crazed, ragged figure called Bender, who claims to be the janitor of the timestream. After everyone has left, Bender reveals himself to be [[Comicbook/KangTheConqueror Immortus]], and laughs to himself about the show he put on to get Bishop where he needed to be.

* The Switch version of ''VideoGame/Undertale'' introduces a new secret boss named Mad Mew Mew, a life-sized doll possessed by a ghost. What some players may not realize is that the doll is actually possessed by the same ghost who possessed the Mad Dummy.

** Throughout the ''Cosmos of the Lostbelt'' Saga, an individual claiming to be from Chaldea has been visiting the Lostbelts ahead of the protagonists and helping save the local residents. He finally appears in "Atlantis" to protect the protagonists and Mash from Kirschtaria Wodime and reveals his face to be Romani Archaman...but the heroes can quickly tell that he is ''not'' Dr. Roman. Kirschtaria suspects that the Chaldean's true identity is Goetia, the BigBad of the previous part.
** "Cosmos of the Lostbelt" introduces a woman named Koyanskaya, Goredolf's secretary who is actually working with the Foreign God for her own goals. The third chapter SIN reveals that her full name is Tamamo Vitch Koyanskaya, implying she is one of Tamamo-no-Mae's tails from ''[[VideoGame/FateEXTRA Fate/EXTRA CCC]]''. The ''Tunguska Sanctuary'' events then reveals that Koyanskaya [[SubvertedTrope isn't the real Tamamo Vitch]]. Rather she is the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the animals killed in the Tunguska Event, who took Tamamo's likeness and aimed to become a Beast for misguided revenge against humans.

* In the ''VideoGame/Persona5'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/29086554 The God Complex]]'', the Phantom Thieves [[SparedByTheAdaptation Akechi]] find themselves in a copy of Tokyo, with an entity telling them they must clear 7 Palaces created from the Twisted Desires of their own numbers. As they clear the Palaces, they soon realize that the entity sounds like Dr. Maruki, the counselor from Shuijin Academy who had his own Palace. They eventually learn that the entity has possessed Maruki, and that the entity is non-other than [[BigBad Yaldaboth]], who had survived in his weakened state and seaks revenge on the Pahntom Thieves.

* The ending of ''Film/MechanicalViolatorHakaider'' heavily implies that Michael, the angelic android who serves as TheDragon to Gurjev, is actually that continuity's version of Series/{{Kikaider}}. The video game sequel sees [[BigBad Gurjev]] return as Blue Hakaider, who was a supporting villain in ''[[Series/{{Kikaider}} Kikaider 01]]''. Instead of being one of Hakaider's [[ColorCodedCharacters color-coded identical lackeys]] however he's depicted instead as an EvilCounterpart to him.

* The ending of ''Film/MechanicalViolatorHakaider'' heavily implies that Michael, the angelic android who serves as TheDragon to Gurjev, is actually a heavily modified and reprogrammed Series/{{Kikaider}}. The video game sequel sees [[BigBad Gurjev]] return as Blue Hakaider, who was a supporting villain in ''[[Series/{{Kikaider}} Kikaider 01]]''. Instead of being one of Hakaider's [[ColorCodedCharacters color-coded identical lackeys]] however he's depicted instead as an EvilCounterpart to him.