History Main / InexplicablyAwesome

* The title character from ''TSUYOSHI - The One Nobody Can Win Against'' is [[WorldsStrongestMan the strongest fighter in Japan by a considerable margin]], with his Tai Chi having [[CurbStompBattle casually defeated many strong opponents]] including ''two'' All-Japan Karate champions (in fact the second decided to face Tsuyoshi because the other got so mentally broken by their fight he didn't try and defend his title at the next tournament, and he wanted to know what monster could do that), a Kendoka, a Muay Thai fighter, and many others, with the first to even force him to try being a special agent of China's Ministry of Martial Arts who happened to [[KungFuProofMook Tsuyoshi's favorite finisher]], [[GroinAttack punching his opponents in the crotch]] (the fighter [[TrainingFromHell shredded his balls during training]])... But there's absolutely ''no'' explanation for why he's so strong beyond experience crushing all his challengers, and he had to be already formidable to do that. All that an investigation from the Chinese Ministry of Martial Arts has revealed is that his father used to own a kickboxing gym years earlier with him only receiving the most basic training as a child, while his training consists in an hour of Tai Chi ''gymnastics'' three times per week, and a Russian doctor who conducted a medical examination on him flat-out stated that he appears to be just a short guy with above-average fitness thanks to a healthy lifestyle in spite of having ''seen'' his borderline superhuman strength and speed, and he can't reconcile the two facts. [[spoiler:A brief flashback of his childhood hints he has an insane talent for spotting weak spots into fighters, but still doesn't explain his insane strength and speed]].

* Guru Pathik in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' displays a great deal of knowledge of the Airbenders, spirit world and abilities tied into energy, however it's never explained where he learned. He states that he's a spiritual brother of the Airbenders, doesn't appear to belong to any of the four nations (where they all represent a mixture of real-world cultural and ethnic traits he's very distinctly Indian) and is by far the oldest human character in the series (he was a contemporary of Aangs OldMaster over 100 years before the series began).

* ''Manga/DemonSlayer'': We're never given a concrete answer as to why Nezuko is able to resist her demonic hunger and ultimately [[spoiler: [[DaywalkingVampire conquer the sun]]. Is the latter her reward for the former, or do both come from some common factor? WordOfGod also states that the Kamado family has encountered the blue spider lily before, raising further questions.]]

** For decades, no one knew why [[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Frieza and his family]] were so powerful. His power was so unrivaled that it took a legend to defeat him and every villain afterwards is either demonic in nature or created to be the strongest in the universe. It wasn't until a 2014 interview that it was revealed that Frieza's family are mutants among their race and Frieza himself is a prodigy even among them. This was foreshadowed years earlier, actually, but only to people lucky enough to own and be able to read the ''Akira Toriyama - The World'' artbooks, which revealed that Frieza's QuirkyMinibossSquad the Ginyu Force was also made up entirely of freakishly strong mutants. (Of note, Captain Ginyu himself speculates that the above Goku may also be a mutant, but unlike Frieza and co, this has never been confirmed.)

** Hashirama Senju - the First Hokage, was widely considered to not only be the strongest ninja in the Fire Nation, [[WorldsStrongestMan but the strongest ninja in the world]]. He had a unique set of skills that were very distinct from his brother Tobirama Senju - such as a Wood Style kekkei genkai, and an impressive HealingFactor without the use of hand seals, rivalling even Tsunade's Creation Rebirth - Strength of a Hundred [[note]]Both the Wood Style and Hashirama's healing factor are only accessible to other ninja that have ''his cells''. Yamato, Danzo, Obito and Madara received either or both abilities via experimentation[[/note]]. Not even [[spoiler:being the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths' youngest son]] explains how exceptional he was as a ninja, since [[spoiler:the Sage's younger son didn't have those powers]].

* The title character of ''Webcomic/{{Minus}}'' is like a more irresponsible Mary Poppins.
* The dragons in ''Webcomic/OzyAndMillie'' are a mild case. Oddly enough, they're not magical beings as such, but they do seem to be involved in the surreal from time to time. Ozy put it best: "They like to attempt the impossible on a regular basis. Sometimes, to their surprise, it actually works." This may account for why there's a portal to another dimension in Llewellyn's couch.
* Richard from ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup''. Hilariously entertaining and essentially a MemeticBadass, we don't really know anything about Richard's past. Except that he's [[spoiler:not actually dead.]]

* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'':
** The crazy gymnast assassin Oasis. Pete has shown us hints as to who (or rather what) she is but has pulled the rug out from under us before. Whether she's a robot, a real girl with [[PlayingWithFire fire]] powers that's immortal to boot, a zombie-like being who [[HealingFactor heals all wounds]], a ghost that [[GrandTheftMe 'dominates']] other beings to the point they even ''look'' like her, or something else we don't really know. All we know is she apparently can't be killed and goes [[BerserkButton berserk]] whenever she sees someone from Hereti Corp.
** Bun-bun. A badass talking [[KillerRabbit rabbit]] with a bad attitude, a switchblade, and a glock he pulls out from [[{{Hammerspace}} nowhere]]. The only clues we've had to his past so far is that he's been thrown out of time once before by Santa Claus, his mother was probably killed in front of his eyes, and he was put back into the right timeline by Uncle Time who admits it was just somewhere in the right 'ballpark'. [[spoiler:At least until it's revealed that he, along with Santa, used to be one of the Mohkadun gods]].
* Fortiscue the sheep from WebComic/CommanderKitty is young enough that Nin Wah guesses [[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2009/06/12/the-tagged/ he hired her and her crew to steal an action figure for his collection]], but he's somehow responsible for building a RidiculouslyHumanRobot ([[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2011/03/27/one-more-cant-hurt/ who later turned on him]]), [[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2010/04/25/plot/ inventing a consumer electronic device]] [[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2012/02/06/film-at-eleven/ used by nearly half the galaxy]], [[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2012/01/01/seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time/ and runnning a massive cloning operation]] [[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2010/10/03/5-ccs-of-chewy-gum-stat/ aboard a gigantic space lab]]. These achievements are really the closest thing he has to a backstory.

* Near everything in the Website/SCPFoundation, because [=SCPs=] have to be inexplicable to be [=SCPs=]. Some of the staff also qualify, most notably Dr. Clef, who has [[StaringDownCthulhu stared down]] [[OmnicidalManiac SCP]]-[[PerpetualMotionMonster 682]] and has joked about being a RealityWarper and/or {{Satan}}. Well, the ''Satan'' thing was ''definitely'' a joke, anyway. Probably.
* [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos The Slender Man]]. No one knows where he comes from, why he kidnaps children and mind rapes people, or why he is TheBlank. (Or who his tailor is.) And anyone who does try to give him a backstory will probably get shot down, as he's much more [[RuleOfScary scary]] and [[RuleOfFunny fun]] when he's ShroudedInMyth.
* Jeannette from ''Literature/FunnyBusiness'' is a subversion. She is practically [[TheOmnipotent omnipotent]], but the second half of the story is dedicated to explaining her existence through certain philosophical thought experiments.
* [[VideoGame/DadSeries Dad]]. No explanation is given for any of the insane things he can pull, which includes SuperStrength, EyeBeams, a stretchy tongue, summoning an electric guitar complete with giant amps and an entire stage, and a penchant for his head catching on fire.
* [[Blog/AskFlufflePuff Fluffle Puff]]. She can seemingly [[{{Hammerspace}} summon objects from nowhere]], [[ImplacableMan withstand any and all attempts to move her unless she wants to be moved]], and is [[NoSell immune to anything a villainous character throws at her]]. How? Why? No idea! However, it's all PlayedForLaughs rather than any attempt to tell a serious story, so it all most likely falls under RuleOfFunny.

* Ms. Frizzle from ''Literature/TheMagicSchoolBus'' takes a very hands-on approach to education which typically involves taking her students on "Field Trips" in her bus, which has the power to shrink, expand, change, transform and generally do things school buses aren't supposed to be able to (it is a ''[[AWizardDidIt magic]]'' school bus, after all), and that doesn't even ''begin'' to describe the various things it can do to the students ''themselves'' for the sake of first-hand experience with the subject of the day. All that's ever revealed about her and the bus is that her first name is Valerie and the guy who built the bus doesn't seem particularly magical himself. It's eventually revealed her distant ancestor had a Magic Spanish Galleon, but [[VoodooShark that just raises more questions]].

* Miss Tickle from ''WesternAnimation/MissionMagic'' did the same shtick as Ms. Frizzle, but earlier. She used a magic cat statue and a door she drew in a chalkboard in place of a school bus, but otherwise had the same hair color and even a similar group of students. Miss Tickle is probably Ms. Frizzle's cousin or older sister.
* Dr. Henry Killinger from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros''. Even though other characters on the show have magical powers, Killinger is clearly a cut above everyone else, especially because nothing about him is ever explained. He inexplicably knows everyone's backstory and most secret desires, he can magically cure herpes and pull anything he needs out of his Magic Murder Bag, and despite his name and costume, he seems to be single-mindedly promoting happiness and helping people realize their potential. He can fly on an umbrella like Mary Poppins, and at one point his ''face appears in the stars'' and quotes Shakespeare. It's also heavily implied he's just Henry Kissinger, and always has been. [[spoiler:He is eventually revealed to be the same kind of being as the Guild's Investors. Which doesn't really explain anything either since the Investors are ''also'' Inexplicably Awesome.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'':
** Gadget is this as well as InspectorOblivious. Never mind that it is his niece Penny and his trusty superintelligent dog Brain who actually do all the investigating (and get none of the credit): just how the hell did he end ''up'' as a walking Swiss Army Hammerspace Knife who would probably be the most dangerous crimefighter in the world if he wasn't such a flaming idiot? The show never tells us, and that is more fitting than any mundane explanation. TheMovie takes a stab at it, but it predictably does not go well. The professor who gave him the gadgets did appear in at least one episode, but the story behind them was never shown.
** Penny makes even less sense. Where did that computer book come from? When did Penny learn how to hack everything in the world? How does she always have the time to follow Gadget around? Though the last question could be answered by Penny's freakish intelligence getting her out of school early.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'': DoorstopBaby Bamm-Bamm's origins and SuperStrength go completely unexplained.
* The twins from ''WesternAnimation/{{Superjail}}'' have RealityWarper powers, affect the plot in ways that border on DeusExMachina to DiabolusExMachina and almost never interact directly with the other characters, but there doesn't seem to be any explanation at all as to why they can do these things. They don't even seem to be Superjail employees or inmates and don't seem to have any specific reason for messing with the jail (besides maybe hating the Warden which is sometimes sort of implied). In the second season however it is revealed that [[spoiler:they're alien pranksters who came to Earth on a year abroad but had too much fun in Superjail to go back to their family.]]

* Resident technowizard Raf in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' can have his computing prowess explained by being a ChildProdigy, but there has yet to be a sufficient explanation for why he instantly understood Bumblebee's beeps.
* The Allspark in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': no one on Cybertron knows where it, or the hammer that created its casing, came from, but it possesses amazing destructive and lifegiving powers as well as demonstrating signs of sentience. The writers flat-out ''said'' that they were never going to explain it, because that would make it less interesting and/or be excessively complicated.
* Maccadam from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersCyberverse'' falls into this. He has an extremely large and strange alt mode and can see into the future. In-universe he's rumored to be one of the original 13 Primes, but he neither confirms or denies this. [[spoiler: The rumors are eventually confirmed when Maccadam reveals to Optimus that his true name is Alchemist Prime.]]
* Guru Pathik in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' displays a great deal of knowledge of the Airbenders, spirit world and abilities tied into energy, however it's never explained where he learned. He states that he's a spiritual brother of the Airbenders, doesn't appear to belong to any of the four nations (where they all represent a mixture of real-world cultural and ethnic traits he's very distinctly Indian) and is by far the oldest human character in the series (he was a contemporary of Aangs OldMaster over 100 years before the series began).
* Izzy from ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama''. She's an ActionGirl and one of Total Drama's best combatants (capable of regularly beating up a ScaryBlackMan), has an alleged [[ImprobablyHighIQ IQ of 188]], SpeaksFluentAnimal, has pyrotechnic knowledge, master of many weapons, displays ToonPhysics, is wanted by the RCMP, and has several [[SplitPersonality split personalities]] (one of which is a savant level genius who solved time travel).
* WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}} is the self-proclaimed Ghost With the Most. Most what? It's shown repeatedly that he's more powerful than most of the other residents of the Neitherworld, and one episode even outright states that he actually has enough power to take over the place single-handedly. (He's just too lazy to be bothered.) But at no time is it ever explained why he's got so much power.

* PlayedForLaughs with [[AlwaysGetsHisMan Sergeant Cosgrove]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}''. He's a heavyset, gruff cop who [[TheStoic never seems fazed by anything]], and often serves as the OnlySaneMan in the WorldOfHam that Freakazoid and his allies and enemies inhabit. However, Cosgrove also possesses strange powers: he can always find Freakazoid no matter where he is--largely so he can invite him to odd events like "the Honey Harvest Festival in Acton"--has [[TheOmniscient complete and total knowledge]] of evil schemes without any explanation (in every episode, he rattles off precise details of the VillainOfTheWeek and their latest plot during the previously-mentioned odd events)), and has the ability to cause anyone to instantly calm down and stop whatever they're doing just by pointing and declaring "Hey--cut it out." In a spin-off comic, Cosgrove was able to get [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner]] to "cut it out"--something ''Death himself'' wasn't able to do. No explanation is ever given for any of Cosgrove's skills: he's just that good of a cop.
* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': On the surface, WesternAnimation/BugsBunny seems to just be an unassuming rabbit, unremarkable aside from his anthropomorphic traits. But when pushed, he almost always turns out to be not only a very clever trickster, but also a powerful RealityWarper who can always manifest exactly the abilities needed to defeat the villain of the episode. At no point is it ever explained where all his powers come from.
* ''WesternAnimation/UncleGrandpa'': The title character is somehow simultaneously the uncle ''and'' grandfather of everyone on Earth, and that's just the beginning of his unexplained abilities. Among the ones that come up most frequently are his ability to be in multiple places at once, having an RV that's much BiggerOnTheInside, and being able to travel through time, among numerous others.

* Claire Stanfield and Graham Specter of ''Literature/{{Baccano}}''; Claire's explaination of attributing his [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower incredible strength]] to his time as a circus acrobat only explains ''half'' of the things he has done so far, while Graham's unmatched skill with his wrench and similar strength to Claire's go unexplained. Then [[WordOfGod Narita states]] that [[TheDreaded Ronny Schiatto]] is probably the ''only one'' who can rival Claire in raw power. At the very least Ronny has [[spoiler: [[TheOmnipotent many]] [[EldritchAbomination explanations]] for his overwhelming power, yet somehow [[BadassNormal Claire]] can give him '''trouble'''.]]

* During Marvel's run of ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel G.I. Joe]]'', Zartan was very much this. How can this assassin/biker gang leader make himself look like anyone within seconds? Never answered! The closest we got was outside speculation that it is "a mixture of hypnosis and holograms". Later on Devil's Due as well as IDW's reboot both gave their own origin to Zartan, and they had one thing in common: they did not explain the full extent of his ability.
* ComicBook/StardustTheSuperWizard was an Golden Age superhero with very ill-defined superpowers that could do basically everything he wanted (via various rays) and whose origin and motivations for fighting crime were completely unknown. It's implied he was SufficientlyAdvancedAlien since his powers are said to be based on "science" which is so advanced it might as well look like magic for normal humans (hence the Super ''Wizard'' in his name), but the creator never really cared elaborating on it (naturally, since the Golden Age wasn't particularly known for setting up rules or some kind of realistic grounding into the lore), and being public domain nowadays a 'canon' explanation is impossible.

* Best Tiger from ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}''. What's his origin story? How can he make bullets ricochet off objects in flagrant defiance of the laws of physics while blindfolded? How can his mind discern patterns and trajectories so flawlessly he can even tell when someone's reading his mind? Does he even have powers or is everything he does just CharlesAtlasSuperpower taken to inhuman extremes? He is Best Tiger, that's all the answer you're getting, and quite frankly it's the only one you need.
* The world of ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'' is very much a video game-inspired place of MagicalRealism, which follows the lives of an eclectic, but otherwise realistically-adjusted cast of young adults in Toronto, [[LikeRealityUnlessNoted mixed with the occasional arcade-style brawl with supernatural powers]]. Even in that context, it's still rather odd that the titular character -- a slacker devoid of life goals and more than a bit of an irresponsible {{manchild}} -- [[BunnyEarsLawyer is in fact the best fighter in the province]]; it's just simply accepted as a narrative fact [[RuleOfCool because it's awesome]].

[[folder:Films ― Animation]]
* The [[EldritchAbomination many supernatural horrors]] from ''WesternAnimation/WhereTheDeadGoToDie'', who are never given a true explanation as to what they are. [[{{Hellhound}} Labby]] and the sun-headed Jesus in particular are very puzzling in this regard.

* WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}'s shamanic powers go unnoticed by most of the characters, but she actually accomplishes quite a bit with them: she talks to trees, summons up spirits, leaps over ravines through levitating, survives crashing down in the water from a cliff, and learns English within three seconds.
* The Sparrow Guardian from ''Animation/WillyTheSparrow''. She's a strange old woman who inflicts a KarmicTransformation on Willy, [[SpeaksFluentAnimal can communicate with animals]], and can walk over thin air. In the original Hungarian, she's described as [[OurFairiesAreDifferent a fairy of some kind]].

[[folder:Films ― Live-Action]]

* Yoda in ''Franchise/StarWars''. Every single alien in the cantina scene of ''A New Hope'' has been given a name, a species, and an extensive backstory in the ExpandedUniverse, but we don't even know the name of Yoda's species (it's known that there are others of his species, but they're extremely rare[[note]]Only two others have been seen so far in canon, and an additional three in ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' (one of whom had originally been intended to be a depiction of a 200 year old Yoda before this was retconned). Every known member of the species has been a powerful Jedi, indicating either that the entire species is innately Force-sensitive or that only very powerful members ever venture out from wherever they came from into the larger galaxy.[[/note]] and just as mysterious as Yoda is). He's just some little old green guy who happens to be the most powerful Jedi who ever lived. And George Lucas intends it to stay that way; Yoda's history is officially off-limits. The novel ''[[Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy I, Jedi]]'' mentions via a Holocron that significant elements of Yoda's backstory are known (at least to some) in-universe, but while the book's first-person narrator says that the tale of how Yoda became a Jedi was very interesting, he shares absolutely none of that story with the readers. Lucas never explained why it was so important for Yoda's past to be mysterious, other than that being mysterious is part of the point of his character.
* ''Film/MysteryMen'': The Sphinx has two superpowers, apparently: he can slice guns apart with his mind, and "He's terribly mysterious".
* ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'': Jareth is a handsome, snarky, elegant RealityWarper who appears human, yet ''somehow'' became the Goblin King and created the titular MobileMaze to surround their city. His unknown {{Backstory}} has become prime FanficFuel over the decades. The official spinoffs give different answers, with ''Manga/ReturnToLabyrinth'' having him be an ancient magical creature of unknown nature, and ''Labyrinth: Coronation'' having him be a stolen human baby.
* ''Film/HardcoreHenry'': In a futuristic society of cyborgs and clones, the villain Akan has telekinetic powers. No one else has mental powers, and his are never explained.

* ''Literature/MaryPoppins'' is not only an example of this trope, but quite possibly ''scarier'' than the Joker once you realize that in the original books, she was practically a PhysicalGod. She wasn't the nice, motherly, "oh children, what ''shall'' I do with you?" type of nanny either, but the "put you through IronicHell until you cry uncle and promise to behave" type.
* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':
** Tom Bombadil appears for exactly one segment of the first book [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment which has absolutely no impact on the surrounding plot]], his powers have no clear (if any) limitations, and most notably the One Ring has ''zero'' effect on him whatsoever. [[Creator/JRRTolkien Tolkien]] was deliberately vague as to his origins, so that some mysteries might remain in the world. It's outright stated that he was the first being in Eä, and that he will be the last. This means that when Morgoth and the other Valar descended from the Halls of Ilúvatar into the world ''he was already there.''[[note]]From a [[WatsonianVersusDoylist Doylist]] perspective this is literally true. Tom and the other characters from his land were originally created as a stand-alone set of fairy stories before being incorporated into the new Middle Earth setting wholesale decades later.[[/note]] [[PragmaticAdaptation Perhaps understandably]], no adaptations of the book thus far have included him, not only because he brings the narrative to an absolute dead stop screeching halt, but because his very presence trivializes the aura of power and menace surrounding the Ring.
** A '''lot''' of creatures in Tolkien's Middle Earth are utterly unexplained, from the eagles to the dragons to the [[EldritchAbomination Nameless Things]]. This is partly because of his very strict metaphysical rules; whereas other fantasy series could easily get away with making random species, from an in-universe perspective they don't make any sense, and so their origins are hotly debated by Tolkien fans.
* ''Literature/TheMagicSchoolBus'', featuring the eccentric and wonderful Ms. Frizzle, was a set of picture books before it was a cartoon series.
* ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'': At the start of the series, Angela seems to be a short and harmless herbalist with a sharp wit who doesn't like to use magic and enjoys knitting. Then we find out the she can speak Urgal, happens to be a Seer, is the only person in the entire Varden who is able to shield her mind and thoughts from the cursed-child Elva (whose powers even the dragon-rider Eragon isn't immune to), is able to simultaneously hold the amazingly skilled fighter Arya, the ferocious dragon Saphira and the dragon-rider Eragon in place ''with her mind alone'', has killed eight-feet-tall Kulls in hand-to-hand combat, and is an expert at using the sword she carries -- which turns out to be the sharpest blade in all of existence. Her origin and past is unknown and left open to speculation. During a telepathic duel against the High Priest of Helgrind, she whispers who she truly is to it. We don't know what she said, but the High Priest promptly broke down in screaming horror.
* Derek Leech in ''Literature/TheQuorum'' by Creator/KimNewman. He first appears standing on the bed of the river Thames in 1961. He already has "language, knowledge, purpose" and a name, but he doesn't have any history before then. He goes on to build himself from nothing into a highly influential CorruptCorporateExecutive who is part UsefulNotes/RupertMurdoch, part Richard Branson and part {{Satan}}, working inexorably towards a diabolical purpose, not sleeping and chewing constantly to keep his rat-like teeth from growing too long, but there's never an explanation of where he came from.
* There is a character called Hoid that shows up in all Creator/BrandonSanderson's adult fiction (which are all in the same [[TheVerse verse]]. The only things we know are that it's the same person every time, he can hop from world to world by some unknown means, and that he's apparently immortal (seeing as the books he's appeared in take place over a 500 year or thereabouts time span according to WordOfGod) He frequently acts odd but seems to have a homing instinct for significant events and people, even if those people don't really understand their own significance. He has some skill with a type of magic called Lightweaving, which is talked about in one of Brandon Sanderson's unpublished works, Dragonsteel (or the Liar of Partinel). The magic involves, among other things, illusions. He may well be one of the oldest living things in the universe, given that he was there [[spoiler: at the shattering of Adonalsium]].

* In ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', [[AuthorAvatar William Kraft's]] background is never revealed, but he appears fairly wealthy and extremely well-connected, even on the international scene, and is a major charismatic leader, military strategist and political mastermind in spite of his complete lack of official credentials and often [[ThoseWackyNazis "eccentric"]] habits.

* Mr. Roarke of ''Series/FantasyIsland'', especially in later seasons, where he demonstrated supernatural abilities well beyond the fantasies he provided for his guests, including confronting and turning away demonic entities.

* The entire main cast of ''VideoGame/{{Killer 7}}'' qualifies, all the more since the [[AllThereInTheManual officially published backstory]] [[MindScrew doesn't actually match what's presented in the game]]. Even the character with the most backstory given in the game, Dan Smith, still counts once you realize [[spoiler:he had to have died ''twice'']].
* The G-Man from ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' appears to be a plainly dressed businessman with a [[AccentUponTheWrongSyllable speech impediment]], a bit strange-looking (described as "Emaciated Robert Oppenheimer" by one fan), but still ''basically'' normal-looking. Yet he pulls the weirdest tricks in the whole game, freezing time and walking right into a scene as if through the FourthWall. The way he speaks, the words he chooses, and the references he makes accentuate his oddness. For that matter, looking like a calm and plainly dressed businessman [[DissonantSerenity is itself odd]] when he appears in the middle of an alien-infested war zone. The only hint about who, or rather ''what'', he might actually be comes from WordOfGod stating that the direction they were going for when portraying him was to make him come across as [[HumanoidAbomination something that has assumed]] AFormYouAreComfortableWith, but doesn't care if you're convinced enough by its disguise to ''remain'' comfortable with it.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' has a few characters who qualify. Who is the Happy Mask Shop Man, how did he come by Majora's Mask, and why is he the only guy with time-travel-proof memory besides Link and co.? Majora's Mask itself toes the line between this and EldritchAbomination, as does its opposite number, the Fierce Deity Mask - Majora has some backstory alluded to in-game, but it's fairly vague.
* Big Joe, a wandering ElvisImpersonator in the original ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}''. He encounters the party at the most bizarre moments: During the Aveh tournament he is the crowd favorite. His moves deal pitiful damage, but the audience in turn restores his HP and hurls cans at you for big-time hurt; he cons 5000 G out of you in the Nortune Civil Block; he plays cards against you on the Yggdrasil; he is a prisoner in the Ethos HQ; while Shevat is under attack, he is found in the air ducts pondering his life; and he is a dancer in the Level 2 area of Etrenank. In the end of the game, he is both a SoundTest and a shop keeper in the ruins of Zeboim. A somewhat hidden fact in the game is that Big Joe was actually living at the time of the ancient Zeboim civilization, [[BrokenAce a five-time hit movie star, NBA Player of the Match, Baseball Triple Clow, Wimbledon Grandslam - and in the same year he won both the WWE Championship and a Pulitzer prize]]. Unfortunately, [[DeathByFallingOver he fell over]] at one of his numerous prize ceremonies, damaging his brain, and [[NapoleonDelusion started to think he was Elvis]]. Somehow he placed in suspended animation before Zeboim fell and woke up 4000 years later in the present day Xenogears era, explaining his longevity (but not his indestructibility or seeming teleportation between cities.)

* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'':
** The Boss. Throughout all the games, we never get anything more than tantalising glimpses into their MysteriousPast, never anything concrete that explains just how some random schmuck remade him/herself into the second most deadly person on the planet. Kinzie apparently knows everything about them thanks to the internet and her computer skills, but the Boss tells her in no uncertain terms that if she ever speaks a word of that information, she's dead. Interestingly, British Boss specifically uses the word "classified" with regards to this information, possibly hinting at some sort of military or spy background for that particular Boss.
** Oleg from ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird''. How did he get so large, powerful, durable? What exactly did he do for the KGB? How does he recognise STAG technology or the Deckers' NEMO Chair? Apart from a vague assertion that it would be best for his alliance with the Saints if they did not know, we have nothing. He's PromotedToPlayable in the AlternateUniverse game ''VideoGame/AgentsOfMayhem'' as Yeti. In this universe, he was experimented on as part of a Russian SuperSoldier program... but all that did was turn him into AnIcePerson, he was still just as huge before that and it's still never explained.
* VideoGame/MaxPayne. In an ostensibly realistic FilmNoir-inspired series, we get absolutely no explanation as to how a supposedly ordinary (former) policeman is actually an escapee from a HeroicBloodshed work who has SuperReflexes, fighting skills that special forces would weep in envy over, and only needs painkillers to shrug off ridiculous amounts of damage.

* ''VideoGame/{{OFF}}'' leaves a lot of things about many of the characters in the game mysterious, but Zacharie is easily the most mysterious of them all. He's [[MetaGuy completely aware that he's in a video game,]] and the player eventually finds out that he owns the amusement park in Zone 2 (and a book can be found in the same zone about a hero slaying a monster, with the hero somewhat implied to be Zacharie.) He's rubbed shoulders with a lot of characters, including the Judge (who he's on a first name basis with and is even willing to take over for him for a while when [[spoiler: he's grieving over the loss of his brother]],) Hugo (who has taken a huge liking to him in the past) and OptionalBoss Sugar. There's also no explanation given as to why he's willing to repeatedly sell things to the Batter [[spoiler: when he's planning to basically destroy the world.]]
* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' and its sequels (''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'', ''VideoGame/TravisStrikesAgainNoMoreHeroes'', ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroesIII''). If you're lucky, you'll get a brief snippet of vague backstory for your next assassin, but other than that there's no explanation for the insane mailman superhero with the crotch laser (who even [[spoiler: comes back as two separate characters in the sequel despite (or due to) ''being bisected'']]), the Japanese guy with the beam naginata who can summon laser dragons, the unstable baseball bat-wielding ballerina with an army of gimps, the '''aliens''' who challenge you in battle, and many other characters. Even the UAA itself is strange and incomprehensible; [[spoiler:somehow Sylvia managed to dupe at least 11 dangerous killers (and one loser otaku with a beam katana) into believing they were part of a fictional organization and get them to kill each other. But then in the sequel it's suddenly a real organization again.]] ''Travis Strikes Again'' follows it up by having the aforementioned ballerina's drunken baseball player father come to avenge her death, at least until he learns of a cursed video game console that can bring her back to life ([[ItMakesSenseInContext which actually kinda makes sense, long story]]). [[spoiler:Subverted there, as the DLC ''finally'' explains their backstory.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** In the 1996 guidebook ''Pocket Monsters Encyclopedia'' it's explained that being able to be stored and transported as data [[{{Sizeshifter}} is a property of the Pokémon themselves instead of technology]] and [[BlackBox nobody's 100% sure how it works]]. In theory, they could be housed in a glass case instead of a Poké Ball. This is never explained, but later confirmed to still be canon (and not just EarlyInstallmentWeirdness) in ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus''.
** Mr. Bonding, a minor character who first appeared in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', is a man in a pink tux who grants the players O-Powers (a mechanic that buffs things such as EXP bonuses, increasing the chances of capturing Pokemon or hatching eggs faster). What puts him into this territory occurs in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'' where it's revealed that [[spoiler: he's a [[FusionDance fusion]] of 6 people: 5 strange old men who also grant O-Powers and are inexplicably awesome themselves, and a once "powerless man" who was previously on a DespairEventHorizon who now serves as the "main host" for the 5 old men.]] Absolutely nothing in the series really explains what happened and how he came to be.

* Most of the unusual actions in ''VideoGame/ColdAndFluInvasion'' can be explained away by video game logic, but one man has the inexplicable ability to ''climb into his hat and disappear''.
* ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' gave us Steven Heck. He claims to work for the CIA. The CIA claims they've never heard of him. His tendency to spout off conspiracy theories, go off on weird tangents and resort to cartoonish violence at the slightest provocation make you want to ignore him. His skills (the least of which involve killing a number of armed NSB agents with his bare hands and locating several pounds of medical-grade cocaine, spiking it with rat poison and delivering it to a mansion in Russia with two days' notice while working out of Taiwan) make doing so impossible. It is never explored who Steven is or what his background involves, but it is suggested (and never outright denied) that he just one day decided being a superspy would be really cool and worked his way into the world of black ops on the power of his ''unbridled batshit insanity alone''.
* Mizuki from ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles'' is a little girl with outrageous SuperStrength, to the point of being able to beat up multiple adult men armed with guns, bench press 220 lbs, jump several times her height, and so on. This is commented on, making it clear it's actually intended to be unnatural, but in the first game, no explanation is ever given for why she's able to do these things. However, [[VideoGame/AITheSomniumFilesNirvanaInitiative the sequel]] finally explains the source of these abilities.
* The source of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'''s [[StrongAndSkilled super speed and skills]] was never explained. The localizers infamously attempted to explain them by giving him a superhero-esque origin in an early tie-in comic. Keyword is ''attempted'', as said origin was [[CanonDiscontinuity promptly ignored]] by the games and all [[ComicBook/SonicTheComic but one]] of the adaptations, and would be {{Jossed}} by Sega and Sonic Team (along with similar localization changes).
* Ahti in ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'' is seemingly a ordinary [[AlmightyJanitor janitor]], but his BluntMetaphorsTrauma way of speaking is the most normal thing about him. When Jesse first runs into him, he directs her to an elevator that wasn't there before (in a place where his own portrait had once hung) and offhandedly [[InnerMonologueConversation responds to her internal monologue]]. The Oldest House is under siege by a formless EldritchAbomination that instantly [[DemonicPossession possesses]] anyone without a very specific kind of protection, but Ahti is both untouched and barely seems to notice. Later documents shows that the FBC, a government agency dedicated to explaining the unexplainable, can't make heads or tails of him or even keep him out of restricted areas. [[spoiler:During the final levels, he appears during Jesse's BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind to offer moral support. Various symbols and events connected with him throughout the game imply he's a Finnish sea god or an avatar of the Oldest House itself, but this is never made fully clear.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Codename Kids Next Door}}'': Various seemingly supernatural beings and events go unexplained, but the most notable are Father and Grandfather. Each is entirely covered in shadow, leaving them as red-outlined silhouettes with yellow eyes. At least in Father's case, this black coating can be removed and reappear at will. Father possesses [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinesis]], [[spoiler: the ability to turn into a dragon, and apparently hasn't aged by the time the members of Sector V have become middle-aged]]. Grandfather can levitate, turn nearby objects and buildings into more old-fashioned versions of themselves, and "ageify" anyone he touches into a "senior citi-zombie", not to mention he's so strong that he survives [[spoiler: the moonbase being dropped on him]]. No explanation is given to where their family's powers originated, nor why [[spoiler: Monty/Numbuh Zero and Nigel/Numbuh One never developed these abilities, other than the fact that they aren't evil like Grandfather and Father]].

* Dr. Henry Killinger from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers''. Even though other characters on the show have magical powers, Killinger is clearly a cut above everyone else, especially because nothing about him is ever explained. He inexplicably knows everyone's backstory and most secret desires, he can magically cure herpes and pull anything he needs out of his Magic Murder Bag, and despite his name and costume, he seems to be single-mindedly promoting happiness and helping people realize their potential. He can fly on an umbrella like Mary Poppins, and at one point his ''face appears in the stars'' and quotes Shakespeare. It's also heavily implied he's just Henry Kissinger, and always has been. [[spoiler:He is eventually revealed to be the same kind of being as the Guild's Investors. Which doesn't really explain anything either since the Investors are ''also'' Inexplicably Awesome.]]

* Ahti in ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'' is seemingly a ordinary janitor, but his BluntMetaphorsTrauma way of speaking is the most normal thing about him. When Jesse first runs into him, he directs her to an elevator that wasn't there before (in a place where his own portrait had once hung) and offhandedly [[InnerMonologueConversation responds to her internal monologue]]. The Oldest House is under siege by a formless EldritchAbomination that instantly [[DemonicPossession possesses]] anyone without a very specific kind of protection, but Ahti is both untouched and barely seems to notice. Later documents shows that the FBC, a government agency dedicated to explaining the unexplainable, can't make heads or tails of him or even keep him out of restricted areas. [[spoiler:During the final levels, he appears during Jesse's BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind to offer moral support. Various symbols and events connected with him throughout the game imply he's a Finnish sea god or an avatar of the Oldest House itself, but this is never made fully clear.]]

** [[MeaningfulName Cypher]]. We don't know who he is, where he comes from, where he's going, or what he wants. All we know is he periodically shows up on battlefields to turn people into smoking craters with his [[DualWielding two]] [[TheGunslinger pistols]] and that he has a sword that he never uses. What's even stranger is that he's a Chaos Space Marine [[spoiler:who has the same "And They Shall Know No Fear" trait as Loyalist Marines.]]

* Mizuki from ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles'' is a little girl with outrageous SuperStrength, to the point of being able to beat up multiple adult men armed with guns, bench press 220 lbs, jump several times her height, and so on. This is commented on, making it clear it's actually intended to be unnatural, but no explanation is ever given for why she's able to do these things.

** [[Anime/DragonBallZBojackUnbound Bojack]] is about as only a Pirate, yet has a power superior to Vegeta and Trunks and surpassing that of Frieza, who the Kais explicitly considered at the time of his arc to be the greatest mortal power in the universe. No explanation has ever been given as to why Bojack is so strong, or why a character at his level of strength is and was content to be a mere SpacePirate.

** Goku's father, [[Anime/BardockTheFatherofGoku Bardock]]. Despite being born and classified as a lower class Saiyan, he has a power level around 10,000 before he died. For reference, Goku didn't get that high until he trained with King Kai and he was still only around 8 to 9,000 without the Kaioken. That also makes him much stronger than Nappa, an elite soldier. In fact, he's about as strong as King Vegeta. It can be explained to an extent by Bardock frequently returning from missions on the brink of death, and receiving zenkais[[note]]The Saiyan race's ability to grow stronger after recovering from near-fatal injuries.[[/note]] from it, but the very existence of the class system indicates it must have been quite rare for a low-class Saiyan to exceed the power levels of the elites.

* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': It's established in universe as early as episode 2 that Ash's partner is ''not'' just an ordinary Pikachu, but quite why is never expanded on. Over-levelled? Good [=IVs=]? An outright anomaly like the partner Pokemon in the [[VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee Let's Go games]]? Something not analogous to the games at all? It's never explicitly confirmed.