History Main / CerebusCallBack

* The fifth season of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' introduces the Daughters of Aku, seven assassins trained from birth to believe Aku is a benevolent being and Jack is a menace that must be disposed of. This calls back to the first season's "Aku's Fairy Tales", where Aku himself tries to brainwash children into thinking the same thing, but fails. Here we see the successful results of that, and it's not pretty.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' has some examples:
** Glomgold being dragged into the water by his shadow in "Shadow War!" is treated as just a humorous moment since it was just one scene. "The Ballad Of Duke Baloney!" shows a darker repercussion to it. [[spoiler: He gets amnesia, and thinks he's someone named Duke Baloney. It turns that this is his actual name, and he slowly starts remembering how Scrooge inadvertently shortchanged him as a child in South Africa for a shoe shine, and vowed revenge on him.]]
** In "Glomtales!" , it's revealed that Magica is stripped of her magic and is reduced to performing for kids' parties at Funzo's Funzone. The mascot then casually talks to her, as if he's completely oblivious to her evilness. Then the season 2 finale "Moonvasion!" shows that [[spoiler: he's actually the Phantom Blot, who's working for FOWL, which is being run by Scrooge's board of directors without him knowing. And in "The Phantom and the Sorceress!", it turns out that the Phantom Blot has a vendette against Magica (and all magic-users in general) for destroying his village.]]
** In "Quack Pack!", there is a quick gag about public disapproval being Dewey's one weakness, which causes him to comically lose his strength, energy and determination. Later in the season during "The Rumble for Ragnarok!", it returns, only this time his need for approval is PlayedForDrama as he feels that getting respect is just about the only thing that gives him worth.
** Everything about Magica [=DeSpell=] when we see episode "[[Recap/DuckTales2017S3E21TheLifeAndCrimesOfScroogeMcDuck The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck!]]".
*** Magica told Webby and Lena that she created Lena from a shadow, and Lena is not family to her. It's because her last family member was her brother, whom Magica accidentally transformed into a raven.
*** Likewise, Magica swears to Scrooge that she will take away everything that he loves. That's because he did the same thing to her, albeit by accident.
*** Magica's original plan 15 years ago was to trap Scrooge in his NumberOneDime to torture him with the one item he loves unconditionally. It's because that same dime recoiled her magic and got her brother transformed.
*** Remember Magica's BigNo when her magic hits Scrooge's dime and it frees him from the metal prison? The last time the Dime recoiled such magic, her brother got caught in the crossfire.
*** Magica has ComicalOverreacting when Scrooge sincerely thanks her. He says that by attacking him, his family mounted a rescue and reconciled with him, so she saved his family indirectly. Magica wanted that chance with Poe as well but never received it, partly in thanks to Scrooge. No wonder she completely lost it then and he was able to steal her staff.
*** She's very protective of that staff, and forcibly took the amulet away from Lena after succeeding in getting the dime. It's the last thing she has of her brother's, and she knows that part is her fault at least.

* In the season one finale of ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', "Storm the Castle", Star gets rid of BigBadWannabe Ludo by throwing him through a random portal with nothing but the clothes on his back, and it's played for laughs. Then in the season 2 episode "Ludo in the Wild" we find Ludo was driven half-mad by starvation and isolation after getting stranded in an inter-dimensional void, and then subsequently got stranded in a snowy wilderness. Ludo not only comes out of this experience [[TookALevelInBadass tougher and meaner]], but [[spoiler: in the process finds the other half of Star's wand, which had been "cleaved" in the season one finale.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': In the first episode "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS1E1ALyingWitchAndAWarden A Lying Witch and a Warden]]" it was established that [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz Noceda]] love the Good Witch Azura books. And because of Luz's eccentric book report that unintentionally caused harm, her mother and principal decided to send her to reality check camp so she could learn to separate fantasy from reality. "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS3E1ThanksToThem Thanks to Them]]" puts all those things into a darker light.

* Early in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', the ComicRelief Sasha steals meat from her supervisor. Years later, in a ShooOutTheClowns death, she dreams about meat as she passes.

* ''ComicBook/MightyAvengers2013:'' The events of ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}'' are retconned as being MindRape inflicted on Monica Rambeau and the others by bored reality warpers, with Monica in particular being traumatised because absolutely no-one believed the team when they mentioned what happened.
** One particular line get pointed out specifically, namely the gag that Monica's mother was in Hell, being used as a kickstand by giant weasels dressed as cheerleaders (it's that kind of comic), all because she told Monica to get a real job. When Monica gets a chance to get even with the ones responsible, it throws the line about Monica's mother back at her. Since Monica loved her mom, this just makes her even angrier.

* During the number "A Guy Like You" in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'' the gargoyles give Quasimodo the Ace of Hearts card while they're trying to convince him that Esmeralda would love him. Shortly after this when he sees Esmeralda kissing Phoebus, he pulls out the card and rips it up.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty'', the film is rather bright and cheery, with the foods believing that once they're chosen that they will be going to heaven. Of course, some of the foods end up expiring and are sent straight to the trash can by Darren the Dark Lord...but that's about it, and it's likely most of the foods are going to be chosen anyway. However, it eventually becomes apparent what the [[CruelAndUnusualDeath Great Beyond]] actually is, and the film suddenly takes a much darker turn.
* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragonTheHiddenWorld'': When Hiccup makes the new automatic tail fin for Toothless, Toothless rears up on his back legs to lick at his face and pull him into a hug. [[spoiler:Before taking the dragons away to the Hidden World, he hugs a crying Hiccup in the same way, and this time, it's anything but humorous.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys''
** When Mr. Wolf first introduces himself to the audience, he refers to himself as the BigBadWolf, "the villain in every story", followed by a shot of a dozen children's books where the wolf is the antagonist. While he does this to brag about how villainous he is, his later conversation with Diane reveals how those kinds of stories left a bigger emotional scar than he's willing to admit.
** The highlight of the first trailer featured Mr. Wolf saving an old lady, resulting him in being called a good boy and giving him a [[GoodFeelsGood tingling sensation]]. In the actual film, he saves her [[AccidentalHero in order not to draw attention at his pickpocket attempt]]. [[spoiler:But then the whole scene takes a different turn when Marmalade reveals it was him in disguise as an old lady and he intentionally goaded Wolf to do what he did in order to make him feel good and be an UnwittingPawn]].
** The mugshot moment shown in the trailers made it look like it was something that happens early in the film with some lightheartedness due to how comical they looked when getting their photos. [[spoiler:It actually takes place at the last act and it was during a tense moment between Wolf and the gang. Somehow they just need to have a good photo while they were having a heated moment, especially Wolf]].

* ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries'':
** Mia and Clarisse go out for a day of fun and take a string of funny photos together in a booth. After Mia has been publicly humiliated at the beach party, when Clarisse is criticising her you see Mia looking sadly at the photos.
** Early in the film, in the scene before Mia visits Clarisse for the first time, Mia and her classmates are put in a choir to sing a song called "Catch a Falling Star". [[DarkReprise Said song is also sung]] during the climax, when Mia is on her car out on the pouring rain.

* ''Film/TheHole'' has a really dark example. In Liz's version of events the group make up a fake scenario to fool Martyn. The scene is done comically but then [[spoiler: when we see the real story the same things they used appear again such as Frankie getting sick (and eventually dying), the water going off and everyone ganging up on Liz]].

* In ''Film/ThelmaAndLouise'', Thelma and Louise take a polaroid photo of themselves at the start of their trip and stick it to the rear view mirror in the car. The photo flies off the mirror [[spoiler: just as the car goes plunging into the Grand Canyon]].

* ''Film/AmericanAnimals'': After TheCaper goes horribly awry, Spencer flashes back to all the fun times he had planning the caper from earlier in the film.

* Early in ''Film/Halloween1978'', Laurie gets scared by an [[HarassingPhoneCall ominous-sounding phone call]]... which turns out to be Annie playing a prank. She later overhears [[spoiler:Lynda being strangled over the phone]], and [[CryingWolf assumes it's another of Annie's pranks]].

* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': In "FZZT" Ward jumps out of an airplane to save Simmons. This gets him a slap-on-the-wrist reprimand from Coulson for endangering himself as well, but also endears him to the team as he shows that despite his IneffectualLoner personality, he does care about them and has a BigBrotherInstinct. Later, in "Providence", Ward cites this story as the moment he gained the rest of the team's trust. [[spoiler: By that point, however, it had been revealed that Ward was actually an agent of HYDRA. He then goes on to explain how he saved Simmons solely to provoke this response.]]

* All of Sherlock's hectic behavior in ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' becomes less amusing after he's [[spoiler:diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome]] in part due to his recklessness.
* On ''Series/ThirtyRock'', Liz dreads attending her high school reunion and is shown in flashbacks being aggressively approached by the popular kids and mumbling and fleeing in fear while others laugh at her. Then, at the reunion it's revealed that Liz was ''actually'' considered to be the school bully and that what she remembers as awkwardly mumbled excuses were actually devastating put downs that hurt people who were reaching out in genuine friendship.
* In Season 1 of ''Series/SchittsCreek'', family matriarch and LadyDrunk Moira Rose freaks out after googling herself and hides in the motel closet. This is PlayedForLaughs as her put-upon but devoted husband and two adult children discuss how to manage her meltdown, something they are all experienced at doing. In Season 5, [[spoiler: The Roses are hosting an after party for her successful community theatre production when Moira receives word that her movie comeback has been shelved. She wails, collapses and crawls into the same closet. This time, the audience is well aware of how much the movie meant to Moira and how hard she works at her creative endeavors. It's still funny, but this time it's heartbreaking as well.]]
* In the first episode of ''Series/RedDwarf'', Lister says that the last time Rimmer took the astronavigation exam, he wrote "I am a fish" 400 times, did a funny little dance, and fainted. In the Series XII episode "Siliconia", Rimmer has a mostly PlayedForDrama speech about TheEvilsOfFreeWill, in which says that he spent his miserable childhood envying his goldfish.
* ''Series/Loki2021'': When Loki is first processed by the TVA, it's comedic, karmic punishment for someone who just tried taking over Earth to be treated with utter apathy by bored bureaucrats and dropped through room after room. Later, seeing the exact same thing, happen to an innocent little girl who was just playing with her toys and is terrified, is heartbreaking.
* ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'': In the early seasons, the Latina inmates give Daya a hard time for not knowing any Spanish, when even some of the white inmates like Piper can speak a little. In the fourth season, Daya [[spoiler: holds "Humps", an abusive prison guard, at gunpoint with a weapon he brought into the prison. When he tries to pull a CommonalityConnection by speaking to her in what he thinks is her native language, she snaps "I don't fucking speak Spanish!" and shoots him, officially kicking off a riot.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' features a gag early on where examining Sans' book reveals that it's a joke book hidden in a quantum physics book, with a joke book inside the quantum physics book, with a quantum physics book behind that joke book. At first it just seems like Sans being his goofy self, but as the game goes on, we learn that Sans has a measure of MediumAwareness and his personality is more of a SadClown...because there's almost nothing he can do to stop some [[PlayerCharacter schmuck from another dimension from murdering him and all of his friends just for the fun of it.]]

* In ''VisualNovel/RoseGunsDays'' Season 1, there's a gag of Richard threatening someone on the phone to cut their fingers if they pay their debt too late… but stumbling on his words because he misread his cheat sheet, with [[TheHero Leo]] and Richard's bodyguard Cyrus laughing in the background. In Season 4 [[spoiler:Richard has turned into a ruthless leader and uses the exact same thread on a businessman late to pay his protection money. This time, not only is it played completely seriously, but Richard does enforce his threat.]] Leo and Cyrus are still in the background, but the former, back after 3 years of absence, is not at all amused while the latter tells him it's NecessarilyEvil.

* ''WebVideo/MyLittlePonyTheMentallyAdvancedSeries'': Well not exactly a light moment Celestia tearing apart filly!Twilight's prized stuffed bumblebee, was meant to be just another element of BlackComedy in a show full of it. But in RDP: The Haunting, an [[spoiler: EldritchAbomination uses this experience, to brainwash her into aiding it]]
* During the events of WebVideo/BennettTheSage's review of ''Anime/JungleDeIkou'', Sage gouged out one of Gabe's eyes as a bit of BlackComedy. In the review for ''Sins of the Sisters'', however, it is shown that Sage does harbor guilt over what he did and in the commentary, Bennett admitted this came from the realization that the original act was a rather hateful one and crafted the subplot to show Sage's guilt.
* ''WebVideo/PhilosophyTube'''s video "[[https://youtu.be/eQNw2FBdpyE Suic!de and Ment@l He@lth]]" consists of Abigail holding a very academically focused monologue about what classifies suicidality, and to what degree it's linked with mental illness, interspersed with little snippets of a conversation between a therapist and a Russian Cosmonaut, both played by Abigail. Then, the conversation suddenly shifts, with Abigail delivering a heartbreaking account of [[spoiler: her own two suicide attempts and history of self-harm, and how she uses the image of the Cosmonaut as a metaphor for how she feels in the moments where she wants to kill herself.]]
** The followup video, "Men. Abuse. Trauma.", has Abigail recounting her first experience with a therapist. During her first session, she told her a funny story about her recent ex-girlfriend. When she moved out, she left an IKEA-cabinet behind, and Abigail needed to take it apart and throw it out. She describes how, eventually, she got so worked up over it she just started ripping it apart with her bare hands, kicking it apart and throwing the pieces onto the curb. [[spoiler: Her therapist then explained to her that this was a symptom of trauma as a result of abuse. Abigail denied that she was traumatized... but then started recounting stories about her girlfriend's verbal, emotional, sometimes physical abuse, all while making increasingly flimsy excuses for her, to the point where she starts literally ''screaming'' at the camera that it was her own fault anyway.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', when Steven talks to Peridot for the first time in "Marble Madness", she asks if "Stevens" have replaced "humans" as Earth's dominant species. He denies that, telling her about his friends. [[spoiler: This comes back to bite him when the people he mentioned become the targets of Aquamarine and Topaz.]]
-->'''Steven:''' Oh no, there's lots of humans! There's my dad, Connie, Lars and Sadie, the mailman, Onion... I think... Lots of people!

* The fifth season of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' introduces the Daughters of Aku, seven assassins trained from birth to believe Aku is a benevolent being and Jack is a menace that must be disposed of. This calls back to the first season's "Aku's Fairy Tales", where Aku himself tries to brainwash children into thinking the same thing, but fails. Here we see the successful results of that, and it's not pretty.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Episode 105 shows [[ContinuityCavalcade flashbacks to several episodes]] where [[spoiler: [[TheChewToy Stumpy]] was abused or made fun of by his friends. When you watch those episodes at first, they seem funny, but not when you see the poor kid remember those things with tears in his eyes and his friends finally realize just how cruel they've been.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' has some examples:
** Glomgold being dragged into the water by his shadow in "Shadow War!" is treated as just a humorous moment since it was just one scene. "The Ballad Of Duke Baloney!" shows a darker repercussion to it. [[spoiler: He gets amnesia, and thinks he's someone named Duke Baloney. It turns that this is his actual name, and he slowly starts remembering how Scrooge inadvertently shortchanged him as a child in South Africa for a shoe shine, and vowed revenge on him.]]
** In "Glomtales!" , it's revealed that Magica is stripped of her magic and is reduced to performing for kids' parties at Funzo's Funzone. The mascot then casually talks to her, as if he's completely oblivious to her evilness. Then the season 2 finale "Moonvasion!" shows that [[spoiler: he's actually the Phantom Blot, who's working for FOWL, which is being run by Scrooge's board of directors without him knowing. And in "The Phantom and the Sorceress!", it turns out that the Phantom Blot has a vendette against Magica (and all magic-users in general) for destroying his village.]]
** In "Quack Pack!", there is a quick gag about public disapproval being Dewey's one weakness, which causes him to comically lose his strength, energy and determination. Later in the season during "The Rumble for Ragnarok!", it returns, only this time his need for approval is PlayedForDrama as he feels that getting respect is just about the only thing that gives him worth.
** Everything about Magica [=DeSpell=] when we see episode "[[Recap/DuckTales2017S3E21TheLifeAndCrimesOfScroogeMcDuck The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck!]]".
*** Magica told Webby and Lena that she created Lena from a shadow, and Lena is not family to her. It's because her last family member was her brother, whom Magica accidentally transformed into a raven.
*** Likewise, Magica swears to Scrooge that she will take away everything that he loves. That's because he did the same thing to her, albeit by accident.
*** Magica's original plan 15 years ago was to trap Scrooge in his NumberOneDime to torture him with the one item he loves unconditionally. It's because that same dime recoiled her magic and got her brother transformed.
*** Remember Magica's BigNo when her magic hits Scrooge's dime and it frees him from the metal prison? The last time the Dime recoiled such magic, her brother got caught in the crossfire.
*** Magica has ComicalOverreacting when Scrooge sincerely thanks her. He says that by attacking him, his family mounted a rescue and reconciled with him, so she saved his family indirectly. Magica wanted that chance with Poe as well but never received it, partly in thanks to Scrooge. No wonder she completely lost it then and he was able to steal her staff.
*** She's very protective of that staff, and forcibly took the amulet away from Lena after succeeding in getting the dime. It's the last thing she has of her brother's, and she knows that part is her fault at least.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/FancyNancy'' episode "Shoe La La", a running gag has Nancy acting rather dramatically about not getting a pair of fancy red shows, eventually culminating in her wearing a funeral outfit, in a scene that's black comedy. She wears the same outfit in "Au Revoir Jean Claude", only this time to Jean Claude's funeral, which ''isn't'' played for laughs.
* ''WesternAnimation/VillainousCartoonNetwork'': [[spoiler: Dr. Flug hatred towards [[ArchEnemy Goldheart]]. It's [[PlayedForLaughs Played For Laughs]] until episode 6 where it's become important for a plot: Miss Heed fell in love with Goldheart when she was studying in [[AcademyOfEvil Black Hat's Academy]] and wanted his attention so she stole a part of Flug's thesis about [[{{Brainwash}} controling emotions]] and became a [[BitchInSheepsClothing "heroine"]] and broke Dr.Flug's heart. When she does it in the present and Flug remembered this and realized that she's using him for Goldheart again he freed from [[MindControl Mind Control]] and [[NoSell became immune to it]]. Also Goldheart becomes [[GreaterScopeVillain A Greater-Scope Antagonist]] of the series.]]

* "WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty": The deaths of Lady Katana, Diablo Verde, and Calypso are put in a darker light in "WesternAnimation/Vindicators2". While they were offhandedly claimed to have died in the fight against Doom-Nomitron in "[[Recap/RickAndMortyS3E4Vindicators3TheReturnOfWorldEnder Vindicators 3: The Return of World Ender]]", we're shown in "Girls Night" how they actually died. [[spoiler: They were all murdered by Supernova while she was blackout drunk, with the remaining team members using their "victory" over Doom-Nomitron (actually Rick's) to cover it up. Also, Doom-Nomitron wasn't even "near" Dorian 5. The planet exploded because Supernova miscarried her baby there, which caused her to create an explosion that destroyed the planet]].
* Scar using Jaziri’s upbeat “sisi na sawa” song to taunt Kion in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard''. Jaziri was showing Kion that lions and hyenas aren’t so different, while Scar was invoking it to convince Kion he was destined to be evil after Kion got his scar from Ushari and the venom was affecting him.

* ''Literature/BriefCases'': Inverted. Back in ''Literature/{{Changes}}'', Harry said, “I will make Maggie safe. If the world burns because of that, then so be it. Me and the kid will roast some marshmallows,” and it was one of the signs of him becoming TheUnfettered. In "Zoo Day", Maggie asks, “What if I set something on fire?”, and Harry replies, “Maybe we’ll roast some marshmallows,” but this time it's a lighthearted joke meant to reassure Maggie that he is with her and nothing bad is going to happen.

* The first trailer of ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys'' has an old lady call Mr. Wolf a good boy, giving him a GoodFeelsGood moment and is a memorable scene of that trailer. It still plays straight in the film proper, [[spoiler:but the revelation later on in the film is nefarous - it was the villain Marmalade pretending to be a woman to goad Mr. Wolf into an UnwittingPawn of his]].

** In "Glomtales!" , it's revealed that Magica is stripped of her magic and is reduced to performing for kids' parties at Funzo's Funzone. The mascot then casually talks to her, as if he's completely oblivious to her evilness. Then the season 2 finale "Moonvasion!" shows that [[spoiler: he's actually the Phantom Blot, who's working for FOWL, which is being run by Scrooge's board of directors without him knowing.]]

* Scar using Jaziri’s upbeat “sisi na sawa” song to taunt Kion in ‘’WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard''. Jaziri was showing Kion that lions and hyenas aren’t so different, while Scar was invoking it to convince Kion he was destined to be evil after Kion got his scar from Ushari and the venom was affecting him.

* ''TheStormlightArchive'': Shallan tends to attract this, given her ''many'' [[DarkAndTroubledPast layers of]] [[TraumaCongaLine tragic backstory.]] Simply to start, we're introduced early to her tendency to blurt out snark and jokes at the first opportunity. Later we learn she got in the habit desperately trying to cheer up her brothers in their broken home.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': All throughout Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2, humorous things happen to Zuko that foil his attempts at catching Aang. At the end of "Bitter Work" (after being unable to create lightning), he's screaming into a storm about how cruel the universe has always been to him and finally breaks down. Suddenly, all those silly things go from the universe poking fun at an IneffectualSympatheticVillain to the turmoils of a young man desperate to go home and be loved by his father.

Compare CerebusRetcon when a comedy plot element is deconstructed and played straight and DarkReprise when it's a song. See also FunnyAneurysmMoment for an unintentional version of this. Note that it only counts when the previous moment is actually referenced. When it's a form of dialogue reversal, see IronicEcho. When the thing being called back to seemed like more of a throwaway than anything, that's MeaningfulEcho. When an apparent throwaway gag turns out to be significant to the plot, it's a ChekhovsGag.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'': In the episode "Careers in Science", Colonel Bud Manstrong shares a story with the Ventures from his days as a paperboy aboard the space station Gargantua-1; during the station’s Movie Night back in the 80s, a deranged employee nicknamed "Phantom Spaceman" went mad and [[ThrownOutTheAirLock ejected most of the station's employees out the cargo bay doors to their death]]. Six seasons later, in the episode "The Rorqual Affair", we get a more detailed, graphic account of the incident from Red Death. Unlike Manstrong, who treated it like a campfire ghost story, he was ''there'' to see the horror of the whole thing.