History Main / ChairReveal

* On ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'', Mr. Feeny does this to reveal that he is Cory's new principal when Cory gets sent the principal's office on his first day of high school.

** Alice also does it at the end of the concert film, ''Good To See You, Alice Cooper'', when he is revealed as the psychiatrist that the director has talking to.

* The ''VideoGame/NancyDrew'' game ''Danger on Deception Island'' has an interesting subversion: after seeing incriminating evidence suggesting [[spoiler:her friend Katie]] is behind the crimes, Nancy finds her sitting in chair in the culprit's headquarters. [[spoiler:Turning the chair reveals that Katie has been tied up by the actual criminal.]]

* Done in ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', where Negaduck reveals himself like that to the main character through the prison's wardens chair and gets the added pleasure of first hearing DW try to warn him about Negaduck's planned prison break only for him to turn and tell him that its too late.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': Mr. Big is introduced by having the massive polar bear Korlov enters the room, sits at the desk and then open his large paws to reveal... the back of a tiny chair. And then he turns it around, and we get our first view of the miniature mob boss.

* Completely parodied and downplayed in ''WebOriginal/CodeMENT'', wherein Jeremiah Gottwald greets Diethard Ried with a chair swivel and a [[WeMeetAgain "We meet again"]] speech. He then marvels at how dramatic his own entrance was and how the chair [[BeyondTheImpossible wasn't even a swivel chair]], [[AchievementsInIgnorance it was deadbolted to the floor]], all the while Kewell Soresi thinks to himself how ridiculous all this is and that Jeremiah just caused $30,000 worth of damage. Between the two of them, as well as Diethard, who doesn't seem all that surprised to see him, having to interrupt these chair-based shenanigans, it loses any and all dramatic tension in favor of pure comedy.

In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', Agatha hears a voice calling to her and thinks it came from [[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20160226 behind a chair.]] It didn't.

* Parodied on ''Series/ThirtyRock'', where Kenneth's [[SitcomArchNemesis nemesis]] Donnie tries this but ends up overshooting and has to clumsily correct his spin.

* This is how Hatter is introduced in ''Series/{{Alice|2009}}''.

** So did ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E4BeautyAndTheBeasts Beauty and the Beasts]]".
** And in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E17Superstar Superstar]]" when the gang goes for help from Sunnydale's greatest hero. The chair spins and it's... Jonathan.

* In ''VideoGame/TombraiderIII'', one of the bosses reveals himself in this way.

* Also done in ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', where Negaduck reveals himself like that to the main character through the prison's wardens chair and gets the added pleasure of first hearing DW try to warn him about Negaduck's planned prison break only for him to turn and tell him that its too late.

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "That Darn Katz!" plays this surprisingly straight; Nibbler and Amy find Professor Katz sitting in his office chair with his back to them, and when they turn the chair around he's apparently dead. [[spoiler:Then it turns out he was never alive in the first place; he's actually a puppet.]]

* This was played with in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' where a criminal called Big Daddy did this to Wiggum and Skinner, despite the fact that he had just sat down in the chair three seconds before.
** Also when Homer has to visit the IRS for his faulty tax report. The same chair swivels around twice and reveals two different men. Who both spoke to him.
** And played straight in the episode "Black Widower", where Sideshow Bob blew up his hotel room in an attempt to kill his wife Selma. When he goes in and turns around the chair he thinks her corpse sits in, he finds Bart instead (alive, of course).

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', Tombstone, previously TheVoice and TheFaceless, is first fully revealed this way, while speaking to Spider-Man in his office. Later, Green Goblin reveals himself to Tombstone in the same chair, to gloat that he's kidnapped Tombstone's [[TheDragon dragon]], Hammerhead.

* ''Anime/MaiHime'' also uses one with Mashiro, but it turns out [[spoiler:what's in the chair is a doll, the real Mashiro already escaped]].

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': Season Ten's "Beacon" does this in the teaser, having Tess walk into her office at the Daily Planet only to find someone sitting in her chair. It spins around to reveal Lionel Luthor, who is both her [[LongLostRelative recently]] [[TheReveal discovered]] [[ParentalAbandonment father]] and, well, someone who died a long time ago. He's actually her father's AlternateUniverse counterpart, and since this version is both [[AxCrazy eviler]] and [[AbusiveParents crueler]] than his deceased counterpart, Tess [[OhCrap doesn't exactly take it well]].

* ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow'' (2004). Totenkopf is revealed [[spoiler:to be dead]] in this manner.
** His [[spoiler:German MeaningfulName (Skull)]] may have revealed the spoiler in advance, though.
*** Considering that a more literal translation would be 'Dead Head', he was probably just listening to Jerry Garcia. In the forties.

** So did ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E3BeautyAndTheBeasts Beauty and the Beasts]]".

* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' got one of these in "Smile Time" when the chair contains... still Angel. But now he's a puppet.
** So did ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' in "Beauty and the Beasts".
** And in "Superstar" when the gang goes for help from Sunnydale's greatest hero. The chair spins and it's... Jonathan.

* Parodied on an episode of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' with Alec Baldwin demonstrating how to be a [[LargeHam handsome actor]], along with GlassesPull.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had a great instance of this. An unseen character paying the Baddie of the Week to get Batman's cape and cowl turns out to be... [[spoiler:Batman]].

* In ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' in between chapters eleven and twelve, [[spoiler: Jacket finds his apartment broken into and his dead girlfriend on the floor. When the player walks upwards from the body, he sees the killer sitting on the couch]].

* Death does it in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Discworld/{{Mort}}''.

* ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'': Mr. Big is introduced by having the massive polar bear Korlov enters the room, sits at the desk and then open his large paws to reveal... the back of a tiny chair. And then he turns it around, and we get our first view of the miniature mob boss.

** And in "Superstar" when the gang goes for help from Sunnydale's greatest hero. The chair spins and it's.... Jonathan.

* In ''Anime/KirbyOfTheStars'', Customer Service of Holy Nightmare Corporation does this when he and Dedede first meet face to face [[spoiler: showing that he's just as small as any other character on the show. No legs, just feet where his upper torso ends.]]

* Also done in ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', where Negaduck reveals himself like that to the main character.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** In "Lair of Grievous", Kit Fisto is tracking down Nute Gunray. He finds a room filled with droids standing around a chair from where Gunray's voice can be heard. After defeating the droids, the Jedi find that it is just a hologram.
** The dead body version shows up in [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS2E15SenateMurders "Senate Murders"]] -- when Padmé and Bail Organa go to confront Senator Mee Deechi about his apparent attempt to get them killed, they turn his chair around to find a knife in his chest.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'': Mr. Big is introduced by having the massive polar bear Korlov enters the room, sits at the desk and then open his large paws to reveal... the back of tiny chair. And then he turns it around, and we get our first view of the miniature mob boss.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho''. In "The Caves of Androzani", [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Morgus]] is introduced talking on the VideoPhone while facing away from the audience. After he signs off he turns to [[AsideComment address the audience]]. [[SurroundedByIdiots "The spineless cretins!"]]

Quite often, the [[CoolChair chair will be cool]], and the [[SlouchOfVillainy posture will be villainous]].

* The remake of ''Film/TheParentTrap'' had the mother and one twin arrive home to find the other twin sitting at the grandfather's desk. In this version, though, [[NewspaperThinDisguise her face was covered by a newspaper.]]

* The initial reveal of the female Romulan commander in ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' "The Enterprise Incident".