History Main / InfoDump

Not to be confused with the UsefulNotes/{{autis|m}}tic phenomenon also known as "infodumping", in which someone similarly rambles on about a particular deeply-rooted interest, not to give a narrative background but simply because they enjoy the subject and want to discuss it in depth.

* Chapter Seven of ''[[Fanfic/SixesAndSevens Shadow of the Eagle'' has one at the beginning. Justified in-universe since most of the team on Fidonisi have no idea what each other are capable of beyond some sly remarks until the ambush in the previous chapter, so when they have a chance to catch their breath they basically ask each other what the hell everyone is. Michael explains how he became Union Jack, Mark how he was bonded to a Spirit of Vengeance, Emily's suspicions that she herself is something more than human. Anthea explains to everyone that Roger is an Inhuman, while she is a siren who once masqueraded as a goddess.

* ''Series/Detectorists'':

* ''ComicBook/AllNewWolverine'': Much of issue 13 is spent recapping events of ''ComicBook/X23InnocenceLost'' and ''Target: X'', establishing who Kimura, Megan, and Debbie are, and the nature of the trigger scent.
* ''ComicBook/AntMan2022'': Issue #4 has a "Marvl Narrative Infodump! ([-TM-])" to explain just who Zayn is.

* ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'': Glenn Greenberg was permitted to pen a one-off issue, ''The Osborn Journal'', to tie up all of Norman's loose ends and explain why he'd been hiding in Europe all these years and masterminded the whole Saga.

* ''ComicBook/WeaponX1991'': The Professor takes the time at one point to explain some of Logan's military history and his nature as a mutant.

* ''Literature/TransformersExodus'': The first chapter takes information that could definitely be introduced later and throws it all into the intro. We don't need to know what the city looks like, when Orion Pax is sitting at a desk, and he's not even looking out a window -- or even thinking about the city at all.

Not to be confused with the UsefulNotes/{{autis|m}}tic phenomenon also known as "infodumping", in which someone similarly rambles on about a particular interest, not to give a narrative background but simply because they enjoy the subject and want to discuss it in depth.

->''"Could you slow down? I wasn't this lost when I read ''Heretics of Dune''!"''

->''"Could you slow down? I wasn't this lost when I read ''[[{{Literature/Dune}} Heretics of Dune]]''!"''

Infodumping is a type of {{Exposition}} that is particularly long or wordy. As ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' proves, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools it can be done in a way that is unintrusive or entertaining]], characterize the participants, and have some wonderful music to back it all up. And there may just be situations involving AcceptableBreaksFromReality due to there being no other way to more naturally explain the plot point over the course of the story before it becomes critically important without bloating/slowing down the pacing.

[[SturgeonsLaw Most of the time, however]], infodumps are obvious, intrusive, patronizing, and sometimes downright boring because they don't advance the plot at all, especially if they have no visual aids. And if the premise of your story is laughably ridiculous, an infodump will call attention to the fact. The absolute worst is the gratuitous infodump, which painfully restates that which has already been adequately shown, just to make the audience suffer. For these reasons, 'infodump' is often used as a pejorative term. Even worse, one character may be [[AsYouKnow saying it to another who is fully aware of it already]] ([[LampshadeHanging which may be called out]]), for no good reason besides filling in the audience. Having one character be TheWatson is a common workaround to this, as their presence creates the need for other characters to exposit.

** Because the manga only has so many pages to convey information over a month, any plot details are often dumped into long dialog boxes between characters. Character development gets sidelined in favor of plot infomation, with the characters some times repeating themselves or the same info being said in a different way by another character.
** While the mystery of [[spoiler: Goku Black]] is slowly unveiled through several episodes and twists in the anime, the ''Super'' manga dumps all the information about Black into one chapter.