History Main / OutOfCharacterMoment

* Played for laughs with [[HairTriggerTemper Toby]] [[GrumpyBear Ziegler]] in the ''Series/TheWestWing'' episode "Six Meetings Before Lunch": when Toby, who spends the vast majority of his time sulking, complaining, growling, snapping, snarking, and yelling at everyone around him manages to get a Supreme Court nominee confirmed and is subsequently blissed-out enough to say things like "turn that frown upside down" and "let a smile be your umbrella", Margaret backs away from him in fright with the line "Now you're scaring the crap out of me." He then proceeds to amble down the hall humming "Put On a Happy Face" while cheerily greeting other staffers, who stop and stare at him as though he just sprouted antlers.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Mass Effect|1}}'', you can have two companions. Whenever Shepard has to make a paragon/renegade choice, one of them will always argue for the paragon option and the other the renegade one [[note]]The companions have a hidden 'score' on a linear scale, where the highest-scoring will always argue for the paragon choice and the other always the renegade: Liara's is the highest and Wrex's is the lowest, so they are the only two consistent characters and everyone else can argue for either side depending on their squadmate.[[/note]] This can lead to Ashley, who distrusts aliens and wants humans to stand on their own to favor pro-alien options like [[spoiler:saving the Rachni Queen or saving the Council near the end]] while Garrus, a CowboyCop who's nontheless loyal to the current order of things and tries to minimize civilian casualties, can argue for [[spoiler:killing the colonists on Theros rather than using the knockout gas, or leaving the Council to die.]]

** In ''VideoGame/{{Mass Effect|1}}'', you can have two companions. Whenever Shepard has to make a paragon/renegade choice, one of them will always argue for the paragon option and the other the renegade one [[noter]]The companions have a hidden 'score' on a linear scale, where the highest-scoring will always argue for the paragon choice and the other always the renegade: Liara's is the highest and Wrex's is the lowest, so they are the only two consistent characters and everyone else can argue for either side depending on their squadmate.[[/note]] This can lead to Ashley, who distrusts aliens and wants humans to stand on their own to favor pro-alien options like [[spoiler:saving the Rachni Queen or saving the Council near the end]] while Garrus, a CowboyCop who's nontheless loyal to the current order of things and tries to minimize civilian casualties, can argue for [[spoiler:killing the colonists on Theros rather than using the knockout gas, or leaving the Council to die.]]

** In ''VideoGame/{{Mass Effect|1}}'', toward the end of the game, when you [[spoiler:have to decide whether to risk human ships to save the Council's ship, or sacrifice the Council for a better opportunity to attack Sovereign]], one of your two squadmates will always tell you to do the latter and the other will argue for the former, regardless of how they might feel. This can lead to Ashley, who [[spoiler:distrusts the Council and wants humans to stand on their own]] to favor the former option, or the alien squadmates telling you to [[spoiler:sacrifice the Council for humanity's well-being]].

* In [[TheAnimeOfTheGame The anime adaptation]] of ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'', during a period of time in which one of protagonist Endou's best friend has leaves while they're already falling apart with attempting to defeat the [[ItMakesSenseInContext evil extraterrestrial soccer team that's trying to take over the country]]. Endou goes through a period of extreme depression where he doesn't eat, sleep or talk to anyone for days on end. Considering his role as ThePollyanna who always remains ridiculously optimistic and positive to a degree that startles most of the other characters, this was a pretty major deal.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'': Joseph Joestar is, by all indications, HappilyMarried to Suzi Q. Despite that, he ends up cheating on her with a Japanese woman named Tomoko four years prior to [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Part 3]], an affair that leads to her having a son, [[HeroicBastard Josuke Higashikata]], TheHero of [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Part 4]]. It's unclear why Joseph became dissatisfied with their marriage or sought out his mistress, so the infidelity comes off as out-of-character for him.

** During a battle against an army of Doomsday clones in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004'', Franchise/{{Batman}} notices that something's wrong. Before ComicBook/LexLuthor handed the beast over to ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, Doomsday had finally displayed some degree of sentience-- yet the clones are almost mindless and bestial. Batman realizes that the clones are imperfect and easily destroyable, hence they're a mere distraction to keep the heroes busy with while Darkseid's agents nab Kara.
** In ''ComicBook/WarWorld'' Superman acts way out of character, like during his fight with ''ComicBook/MartianManhunter''. Lampshaded when Comicbook/TheSpectre calls Superman out on his unusually brash behavior in the previous few issues.
** In ''ComicBook/HelOnEarth'', after Franchise/{{Superman}} and [[WellIntentionedExtremist H'el]] are caught in an explosion, Superman comes out of the inferno looking absolutely ''pissed'' at ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, who he was previously nice to. He [[NeckLift grabs her by the throat]], blaming her for everything bad happening and calls her a stupid peroxide brat. He then strangles her unconscious and hangs her by the cape on a lamp post. Why is Superman so angry? [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Because it wasn't him]]. It was really H'el disguised as Superman attempting to estrange the two so she would ally with H'el.]]
* The Joker gets one in ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'' when Gordon's second wife allows herself to be killed by the clown it [[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/marvel_dc/images/5/5a/Death_of_Sarah_Essen_2.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080621025342 wipes the smile from his face]].

* In the ''ComicBook/RobynHood'' miniseries "The Curse", Robyn starts dating local San Diego millionare German Villaraigosa, and that we know of, they even get to kiss. This is strange of her, because a womanizing rich guy who thinks that he can buy anything and anyone, is the kind of people she usually hates most. On top of that, knowing her sceptical and distrutful personality and past experiences, is weird that she does not start suspecting him the moment German gets attacked by religious fanatics accusing him of dark magic, nor when the police questions both of them as suspects on a series of ritual murders. Most probably, seeing how this romantic subplot later leads nowhere, nor has a proper conclusion, the writer used this out of character attraction as a tool to have the various plotlines interconnected until the final revelation.

* In WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail Tiger is shown to be a GentleGiant who likes mice and doesn’t want to eat or harm them, however the first time we see him he is shown trying to smash Fievel with his fists, though he may have been doing that to try to fit in with the other cats.

* In ''Film/ShesTheMan'', Amanda Bynes' character spends a good portion of time being shy about her body (possibly due to the fact that she's in an all boy's school and she's not a guy but she still appears to be body shy). Then at the end of the movie she decides to flash an entire stadium of onlookers to prove that she is a girl so that her love interest will possibly like her, and to show that she was a separate person from her brother, whose identity she was using to sneak into the school's athletic team and happened to be taken on the team as a result (and when he was accused of being her at the time, he dropped his pants to prove otherwise).

* In ''Film/TheLastJedi'' it is revealed tha Luke Skywalker considered killing his nephew Ben Solo when he felt the darkness growing inside him, going as far as to turn on his lightsaber over a sleeping Ben, which was the last step Ben needed in his StartOfDarkness, which lead to great part of the plot of the Sequel trilogy. This was the same man who was willing to give his father Darth Vader, a man who had spent the last 20 years subjugating the galaxy, a chance to redeem himself.

* In ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'', Kuuga is the original (Yusuke Godai), but he acts like a more airheaded version of Yusuke Onodera who can't even remember Decade's name (at one point he thinks it's [[Creator/CharlesDickens Dickens]]). In the Den-O world, Momotaros is polite and refers to the other Taros by their actual names rather than [[TheNicknamer his usual nicknames]]; Urataros is described as "the blue Ryutaros".

** The episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E17TheOutcast The Outcast]]" has Worf breaks character for a scene in order to dismiss a certain method of playing poker as "a woman's game" (i.e. a weak one) to show the negative side of gender roles. He also expresses unease at hermaphroditic/genderless beings, similar to the J'naii's disdain for dual-sexed/gendered ones. While Worf is certainly the most conservative officer on the show, and Klingon culture is pariarchal, Worf has previously expressed admiration for strong, fierce women and doesn't say anything misogynistic before or afterward.

* In the third season finale of ''Series/TrueBlood'', Sookie, the sweet-natured protagonist, is left alone to guard Russell Edgington, the season's main villain as well as the most powerful vampire ever seen on the show, while he is rendered completely harmless. When she finds out he was clinging on the destroyed remains of his vampire lover, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCwwC3eaMbY she decides to taunt him by flushing the remains down the sink and making him listen to it]]. And follows it up with a [[EvilLaugh maniacal laugh]]. Many fans consider this to be the most outright Out of Character moment in the entire show, as well as one of the few times Creator/AnnaPaquin was ever truly terrifying. ItMakesSenseInContext, if you consider [[spoiler:Sookie was a fairy]], and then add that [[spoiler:fairies can be horrifying]], as proven by the first episode of season 4.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': This was the primary problem with season 8: in fact, it's arguable that some characters spent the entire season out of character. But as far as the worst examples go:
** Tyrion, despite his whole thing being that he is smarter than everyone else, doesn't realize Sansa is using him to spread the secret of Jon's real parentage despite mentioning that Daenerys may not be the right ruler before telling him. Even worst, he actually does spread it to Varys, whom he expects not to do anything with that information. And he later rats out Varys to Daenerys for betrayal, despite their years-long friendship, without even waiting for Daenerys to finish what she's talking about. Finally, he spends this season and the previous one trying to give Cersei a way to survive, when he should want her dead more than anyone else in the world.
** Jamie straight-up says that he cares nothing for the innocent. The man who killed his king and abandoned his sister to fight in the North all to protect the innocent, says he doesn't care about the innocent.
** The worst example is of course Daenerys [[spoiler:burning the innocent men, women, and children of King's Landing alive after the city already surrendered]]. This goes so far against everything Daenerys has been up to that point that she may as well be a completely different character before and after that that scene. Even her own father, Mad King Aerys, [[spoiler:never burnt innocent civilians when he was winning (he only planned to burn down King's Landing when he was losing).]]
** Jon against all logic and reason defends Dany [[spoiler:burning all those innocent men, women, and children alive]]. Worse yet, [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality Jon only turns against Dany once Tyrion points out that Jon's sisters will never bend the knee to Daenerys]]. Tyrion practically has to spell it out to him how much this goes against everything Jon stands for:
-->'''Jon''': What's it matter what I'd do?
-->'''Tyrion''': It matters more than anything.

* In ''Videogame/BatmanArkhamCity'', Batman himself pulls an [=OoC=] moment when [[spoiler:he opts to try to find Talia al Ghul instead of saving Arkham City from being leveled and its inhabitants killed]]. Oracle [[WhatTheHellHero gives him the riot act]] while Alfred refuses to listen to Bruce, telling him that he knows what he should really do.

** With the ensemble cast of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', Batman would usually be a lot [[DeadpanSnarker more snarky]] if Franchise/TheFlash wasn't around.
* Titanium Chef of ''WesternAnimation/SushiPack'' has had a few moments in recent episodes that were quite out of character, mostly to show the lesson that the Pack was supposed to be learning. Didn't make it any less annoying, though, especially considering there were other recurring villains that would have fit those lessons better.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS1E4TheresNoDisgraceLikeHome There's No Disgrace Like Home]]" Marge gets drunk and actually embarrasses Homer, who wants their family to be normal and appreciated by the rest of society. Part of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, of course.
** Homer intermittently [[SmartBall becomes highly knowledgeable]] about certain things in order to make a joke work.
** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E20TheTroubleWithTrillions The Trouble with Trillions]]" has an OOCM that sticks out like a sore thumb: When the family is being asked by government agents what would Homer do with the ZillionDollarBill he's been accused of stealing, Marge says that the money should go to the kids' college fund... only for ''Lisa'' to reply "Who needs college? Let's buy dune buggies!" '''''Huh?''''' This coming from the girl who, after helping put Mr. Burns back on his feet, refused her rightful million-dollar advisor fee out of moral disapprobation for how he did it.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E4Rosebud Rosebud]]", Homer and Bart are gloating that they can demand any price for returning Bobo to Mr Burns, and Marge replies "Now I'm sure he'll offer a fair reward ... And then we'll make him double it!" When the rest of the family stares at her, she adds, "[[LampshadeHanging Why can't I be greedy every once in a while?]]"
** Everything Mr. Burns does in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E7KingSizeHomer King Size Homer]]", from leading a calisthenics session, to politely pushing Homer back when Homer slides into his office on an oil slick, to honoring Homer's gambit to be considered disabled, to agreeing to do whatever Homer wants in exchange for saving the plant. This is probably the nicest Burns has ever been.
** Speaking of OOC moments from Mr. Burns, one of ''many'' episodes fans often cite as an example of the series losing quality is the Season 10 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E21MontyCantBuyMeLove Monty Can't Buy Me Love]]"...since when does Mr. Burns care what other people think of him?
** What became of Marge in the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E21ItsAMadMadMadMadMarge It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge]]" how she just seems to be insane and AxCrazy rather than CloserToEarth or worst NotSoAboveItAll. Marge never before and after went after any potential suitor for Homer with a broken glass cone, her treatment of Becky was very much unlike her.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E14DasBus Das Bus]]", Sherri defends her (and Terri's) nemesis Lisa when Bart knocks Lisa during the Model UN Conference, but even though it's an equivalent of Nelson defending Bart (though Nelson stayed in character in this scene), it was probably done for the sake of starting a fight with everybody. Curiously, later when the Springfield kids are stranded on an island, Sherri blames Lisa for the crash, but Nelson blames Milhouse, who rolled a grapefruit on the bus floor, which accidentally jammed the brake pedal, causing the bus to crash.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E8HurricaneNeddy Hurricane Neddy]]", Ned Flanders has an OOCM when he snaps and gets angry with the people who rebuilt his house. Ned himself recognizes the severity of the outburst, and immediately drives himself to a mental institution. However, this was explained as the result of Ned repressing his rage and hatred of his parents for literally ''decades''. The piss-poor job the citizens did rebuilding his house was just the last straw.
** Marge again in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E18CatchEmIfYouCan Catch 'Em If You Can]]", in which she ''absolutely hates'' being a mother and would abandon her kids if she could.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E6HelloGutterHelloFadder Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder]]", Mr. Burns does ''not'' have to be reminded who Homer is.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS20E11HowTheTestWasWon How the Test Was Won]]", Lisa completely chokes on a standardized test with no explanation why while everyone else seems to be able to do it fine including Milhouse. Since the test is thrown out anyway at the end, there's no real telling if the problem was with Lisa or the test itself with Lisa being the only one visibly distraught.
** It may be non-canon, but Lisa has one in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E1TreehouseOfHorrorXIII Treehouse of Horror XIII]]" where she's duped by the epitaph of a man named William Bonney into unleashing zombies upon the town. You'd think someone as book-smart as her would recognize Billy the Kid's real name. (Never mind the biggest thing wrong with the story, which is how ''in the world'' did Billy and the other outlaws get interred in Springfield?)
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E16ScuseMeWhileIMissTheSky 'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky]]", Nelson throws a ball of mud at Bart. How does Bart respond? He doesn't retaliate or confront Nelson, he just collapses on the floor crying. It's quite jarring.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS19E6LittleOrphanMillie Little Orphan Millie]]", Milhouse's newfound popularity leads Bart to be left alone at the lunch tables. So someone will join him, he starts complimenting the first person to walk by: Ralph Wiggum. Ralph says "Bart, you're embarrassing yourself!" and walks away. Why does Ralph seem to be suddenly aware that he's unpopular, and is actually able to outsmart Bart?
* On the topic of Creator/MattGroening-produced series, the first ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' movie "[[Recap/FuturamaM1BendersBigScore Bender's Big Score]]" has most of the cast both grabbing the IdiotBall ''and'' acting this way. To wit: Since when do characters like Mom, [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Nixon]], Robot Santa and their casually violent lawless ilk respect things like contracts? Usually, any of their solutions to a Gordian Knot is to vaporize the planet the knot is on.
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'':
** Spoofed in "Bullocks for Stan": throughout the episode, Klaus has been narrating things, explaining that he's pretending he's recording a DVDCommentary for his life. At the end of the episode, when Stan says that his daughter is more important to him than a promotion and they hug, Klaus' narration cuts in, bemoaning how terribly OOC that line is for Stan and saying that [[ExecutiveMeddling the network made them do it]].
** Played straight when Haley the HollywoodAtheist GranolaGirl prays.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/NightmareNed'' had a scout leader telling horror stories around a campfire, frightening his charges...except ''Ned'', who boredly dismisses them as nonsense. [[spoiler:The NightmareSequence in that episode was actually the leader's, not Ned]]'s.
* In an episode of the ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' cartoon, Beast's girlfriend is kidnapped by the [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Friends of Humanity]], at the same time Wolverine is trying to infiltrate the group by posing as a prospective member; Logan's reaction upon hearing that Beast ''has'' a girlfriend is, "huh, will wonders never cease?" But it goes even further when Beast lashes out at the villains in rage while Wolvie plays the GuileHero by calling the team and telling them to use Cerebro to access Sabertooth's file. (Graydon Creed is his son, and Wolvie figures seeing the file will cause Creed to suffer a VillainousBSOD, which it clearly does.) Jubilee can't help but comment on how crazy it is that Beast is the one going off the rails while Wolvie is the one using his head.
* This ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsjdgCsxXpA commercial]] for Creator/CartoonNetwork Latin America may also triple as FanDisservice. Subverted at the end, but STILL...
** Stateside, Creator/CartoonNetwork Promos tend to forget that Double D plays the role of MoralityChain in the ComicTrio and have him join Ed and Eddy in laughing at [[WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends Frankie]]'s misfortune in finding a parking spot, claiming to be Mac's friends to get in a movie for free, and taking pictures of himself in [[WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi Ami and Yumi]]'s clothes, when normally he would object to his friends doing such activities.
** Another ad entitled "Fools in April" depicts Double D running around acting like an idiot with the other Eds and Billy from ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''; the thing is Double D isn't supposed to be stupid.
** In the episode "Pop Goes The Ed" Double D foolishly attacks a beehive with a baseball bat and encourages Ed to do it thinking it would be a good idea, normally Double D is cautious and paranoid about things like that.
** Also, in "Nagged To Ed", Double D, the same guy who is adamant about good manners, is eating his sandwich (made for him and the other two Eds by the Kankers) like a pig.
** In the episode "Home-Cooked Eds", the Eds repeatedly do things that they repeatedly [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] they'd expect another Ed to have done instead. For example, Eddy acting like Ed and Edd, and Edd acting like Ed.
* In a storybook of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timmy wishes to have the perfect Thanksgiving dinner, but Cosmo and Wanda end up dropping him off at Vicky's house. To his surprise, though, Vicky's upset that she is alone on Thanksgiving because her parents and Tootie went out to get cranberry sauce and their car broke down. That's right, in this book, Timmy's {{Jerkass}} babysitter worries about her family, whom she treats no differently than him on the show.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': An early episode, "Forces of Nature", notably has Slade displaying magical abilities and summoning a huge fire monster...despite being a BadassNormal for the rest of the series.

* ''WesternAnimation/RocketPower'':
** Played with the {{Goth}} kid Eddie "the Prince of Darkness" who always wore a cape and mask. In one episode he was recruited as a substitute for the main characters roller hockey team while everyone else but Sam is sick. When they managed to win a key game Eddie pulled his mask up in celebration. When he realized what he did, he put his mask back on and skulked away back into the shadows, murmuring with embarrassment "I succumbed." Although after that episode, he takes off his mask occasionally, usually as the punchline of a scene.
** Otto plays this straight in one episode when Lars challenges him to a mountain board race down a course that nobody has ever completed. Otto, who normally has a "never give up" attitude, begins to suffer a self-defeating panic attack after all of his wipeouts in training. His sister Reggie couldn't believe her ears when Otto said he couldn't do it.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'':
** In the episode "Soccer Boy", TJ acts very out of character. Mikey (one of his best friends) is excluded from their football team because he isn't good at sports. TJ not only ''allows'' this to happen but supports the decision as well. This is the same boy who has shown UndyingLoyalty towards his friends in the face of expulsion, public humiliation and social rejection. A lot of fans were scratching their heads at that one.
** There's another one in "The Lost Ball", when Gus accidentally kicks the new ball the kids found over the fence where a (supposedly) scary old lady lives. His classmates spend the rest of the episode taunting him for being a "ball loser" -- including ''[[TheHeart Mikey]]'', the GentleGiant, emotional core of the group and [[HeterosexualLifePartners the closest one to Gus]], to boot!
** King Bob is the playground's resident ReasonableAuthorityFigure, a ComicallySerious eleven-year-old kid who is a stickler for fairness. You wouldn't guess that if you knew him only from "Fort Tender," wherein he absolutely (and frustratingly) refuses to help TJ and his friends reclaim their fort from Lawson and his GangOfBullies on the grounds of the (admittedly unfair) "Finders Keepers" rule, which, by the way, he ''refuses to repeal''!
* A rather common and infamous trope on ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'', especially in ''Action'', ''World Tour'', and ''All-Stars''. Due to a lot of DependingOnTheWriter circumstances, you get a lot of moments where the {{Nice Guy}}s/Girls suddenly belt out mean comments or act like assholes to others, the complete {{jerkass}}es suddenly say something polite or do something out of genuine sympathy for someone they normally don't care for, or the smart, sensible, and sane characters lose their common sense or do something incredibly idiotic (among other kinds of OOC behaviour). It gets even worse when it comes to friendships, where two contestants will be [[MoodWhiplash laughing and hugging one day, and trying to slit each other's throats the next]]. Relationships likewise; due to the writers' love for the YoyoPlotPoint and TrueLoveIsBoring tropes, it's pretty common for the status of a couple's relationship to fluctuate between utterly devoted to each other and constantly on the verge of breaking up.
** In the SpinOff ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'' the [[BigBad Ice Dancers]] have one in "Little Bull on the Prairie" when [[spoiler:they come in 7th place and just smile and wave. This is the same pair that threw angry and violent fits whenever they placed ''2nd'']].
** Likewise, Don, who is known for making sure that everyone played fair and penalizing cheaters, never planned to arrest the Ice Dancers (namely Josee) for destroying Central Park upon their elimination, [[spoiler:under the hands of a flat tire and the Police Cadets]]. Instead, his idea of a punishment [for the Ice Dancers] is making them watch their sworn enemy win the season.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'', Sandi is shown to be a complete AlphaBitch who exploits the fashion club's emotional weaknesses and attempts to find Quinn's throughout the entire series. However, in "Fire!", when Quinn is receiving a lot of gifts from a friendly bellboy, Sandi points out that he's acting quite suspicious and thinks he might be a stalker -- like she's showing genuine concern for Quinn being safe. Might be a case where stalking [[EvenEvilHasStandards is too much even for Sandi]]. "Fat Like Me" also features one, but that was [[FallenPrincess pretty much the entire point of the episode]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' episode "Heloise, Schmeloise" had a major one for Jimmy. His ObliviousToLove is perfectly IC, unaware of Heloise's affections even as he dates [[RobotMe Schmeloise]]. But throwing Heloise into a mud puddle so he and Schmeloise can literally walk over her is just plain {{jerkass}} material. That said, some would also argue Jimmy being even in love with ''anyone'' is OOC when he's usually totally uninterested in dating and only sees girls as friends.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' season 2 Rubilax, who can never resist an opportunity to taunt or insult Sadlygrove, doesn't talk for three straight episodes after [[spoiler:betraying the demon king Rushu]]. This causes Grovy much distress.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' did this on purpose for its final episode. [[RealityWarper Bat-Mite]] is trying to [[MediumAwareness get the series cancelled]] and does so by hitting it with every example of JumpingTheShark he can think of, including changing the personality and voice of EnsembleDarkHorse Aquaman. When Bat-Mite has Batman start using guns, it's so out-of-character that Batman is finally able to notice the changes happening to his character.
* ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'': Cricket Green hates chores and deems them a bore, when he would rather have fun and be reckless. However, there are a few instances in the show where he is actually willing to do them, such as helping Bill renovate the bathroom in "Tilly Tour", and in "Reckoning Ball", he asks Bill if he would help him fix the roof and helps his family replant the carrots Chip ruined, all without any complaining.
* In ''[[WesternAnimation/BlinkyBill The Adventures of Blinky Bill]]'', [[ShrinkingViolet Shifty Dingo]] has had a couple times where he has acted like a JerkAss but for the most part, he's one of the sweetest characters in the whole show. The times where he acted like a JerkAss, he was most likely trying to impress his big brother Danny.
* A bumper from a while back on Creator/CartoonNetwork had the usually level-headed Fred from Franchise/ScoobyDoo going into a bleeped profanity-laden tirade after being asked about his ascot.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' episode "Reptar's Revenge", at the carnival a clown shows up who entertains the kids and accidentally scares Didi. Chuckie can be seen smiling and laughing at the clown, whereas he is normally terrified of them. This is more a case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness as Chuckie's fear of clowns had only been mentioned in one previous episode.
* The whole episode "Pulp Boot Camp" from ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily'' revolves around this trope. Penny (who is known for being the nice, sane teenager in her family) acts like a disrespectful delinquent to her parents (and Suga Mama) and her friends by taking money and skipping school (all so she could get a story to write). Her parents then decide to send her to boot camp. When Penny sneaks out and tries to get the Gross Sisters to house her, [[EvenEvilHasStandards they refuse and tell her that the fact that she was sent to boot camp makes her a hardened thug, not a regular bully]]. Penny then sees the errors of her ways and [[SnapBack goes back to her nice self.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' once did a crossover with ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' where Static got sent to the future and teamed-up with the snarky, playful Terry [=McGinnis=]... who spent the entire episode shouting orders, calling Virgil out for cracking jokes, and generally acting like a giant bitch. This was done purely to make Virgil look good, too.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''
** "A Pal For Gary" has [=SpongeBob=], who's usually nice and listens to others, even Gary (he even speaks snail), refusing to believe what Gary is telling him, even punishing him for being rude to Puffy Fluffy when it's obviously the other way around.
** In "Company Picnic", Squidward and Mr. Krabs try to sign a contract with Plankton.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' episode "The Deadliest Man Alive", Captain America wants to prove Hulk innocent of a rampage that he later learns arose [[spoiler:as a result of Red Hulk torturing Hulk]]. When Cap asks the other Avengers if they would like to help, Hulk's {{Vitriolic Best Bud|s}} Hawkeye doesn't raise his hand.
* The last 10-minute episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'', "Heartburn" has Mandy--usually stoic and cross--actually crying when she fears that Irwin may be her true love. This may be a case of OOCIsSeriousBusiness (Irwin as her true love is ''that'' bad in her opinion).
** Not so strange if you saw the special episode where the boogeyman showed everyone's darkest fears. Mandy ends up in a house with a grown-up, personality changed version of herself who acts like a stereotypical loving mother. However that's not what causes Mandy to scream at the top of her lungs and run out of the house. What does? Seeing said adult is married to ''Irwin'' who talks like a 80's black live action tv star complete with saxophone music punctuating his appearance.
* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'':
** In the episode "New Teacher" not only does Arnold stand by when the other kids are tormenting Mr Simmons, he can be seen joining in on the tormenting.
** In "Stinky's Pumpkin", when Mr. Simmons asks his class what the beginning of spring means, [[TheBully Harold]] of all people affectionately guesses "Love is in the air?" Though that may have been [[SarcasmMode sarcasm]].
** Arnold has another one in "Egg Story" when he and Helga are partnered together to care for an egg as an exercise in parenting. Helga decides to try and be nice to Arnold for once, but before she can, Arnold rips her a new asshole, telling Helga that he is done tolerating her abuse (understandable, but Helga hasn't done anything bad to him up to this point) that he doesn't like her (obviously untrue, since Arnold has admitted to liking Helga in the past and knows that [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold she's not a bad person deep down]]) and would rather work with anyone else but her (they've successfully worked together several times before this episode, aside from the aforementioned "Biosquare" project). Helga gets furious and rightfully calls Arnold a "big, dumb jerk." The two spend the rest of the episode arguing as a result.
** Phoebe has one in "The Nanny" when an annoying, meddlesome nanny is hired by Big Bob and moves into Helga's house and starts butting into Helga's routine. Helga gets fed up with this and frames the nanny for stealing so she gets fired. When the other kids hear of this, they all leave Helga alone, including her best friend, who is usually very supportive and understanding of Helga.
* ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'': Mrs. Foster is the kindly CoolOldLady who founded the eponymous location. She loves everybody, including Mac, so why she decided to [[spoiler:steal all the airline tickets that was going to take many of the main characters to Europe and use them for herself and her friends for no apparent reason, leaving Mac to take the heat for the tickets' disappearance]] in "Foster's Goes To Europe" is anyone's guess.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'':
** Arthur's [[JerkassBall behavior]] in "So Funny I Forgot To Laugh" went beyond just being a case of CompressedVice and became case of this, as Arthur, one of animation's biggest [[TheEveryMan Everymen]], began continuously harassing his classmate Sue Ellen over a sweater she was wearing.
** In "Buster's Growing Grudge", Buster -- a NiceGuy who loves non-malicious practical jokes -- gets mad when Binky "steals" his joke. He says that he won't ever be happy again until Binky is "totally miserable all the time."
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'':
** The episode "Let's Play Golf" had everyone be out of character. Kaeloo cheats at a game of golf, while usually disapproving of cheating and dishonesty, and at the beginning of the episode she actually calls Stumpy "stupid" to his face. [[TheSmartGuy Mr. Cat]] says he doesn't believe that the planet is round, and believes Kaeloo's lie about a flying rhinoceros. Quack Quack calls Mr. Cat out on his bullying rather than keeping quiet about it like he usually does. [[spoiler:[[TheDitz Stumpy]] doesn't believe Kaeloo's lie about the flying rhinoceros, and is the one to denounce her as a cheater]].
** Pretty, the AlphaBitch of the cast, is unusually nice in Episode 57. She behaves as though Kaeloo is her best friend, and actually treats Stumpy like a person.
** In Episode 91, Stumpy and Quack Quack make fun of Mr. Cat, whereas in most episodes they respect him, especially Stumpy. Kaeloo also doesn't mind joining in, and she takes it to the point of actual bullying.
** In Episode 133, ''almost everyone'' is out of character. Stumpy and Quack Quack, who normally like hanging out with Kaeloo, are determined to keep her away from a party, AlphaBitch Pretty, the hostess of said party, apologizes to Kaeloo for not inviting her, and {{jerkass}} Mr. Cat is nicer to Kaeloo than usual, and also nice to Pretty, who he normally hates to the point of wishing her dead.
** Kaeloo normally tries to portray herself as pure and innocent, but in Episode 141, while on a parody of ''Series/TheVoice'', she ends up wearing a revealing outfit and performing a sexually suggestive dance because she thinks it'll help her win.
** In Episode 105, [[ShrinkingViolet Eugly]], who is normally one of the nicest characters in the show, is seen laughing at Kaeloo when she gets insulted by [[TheNapoleon Olaf]].
** In Episode 144, both Kaeloo and Mr. Cat are out of character. Quack Quack gets possessed by a demon, with visible effects; he now has horns, demon wings and tattoos. Mr. Cat is completely oblivious to the fact that something is wrong, and Kaeloo starts to realize that something is different, when normally it would be the other way around. Other strange things include Kaeloo yelling "YOU LOST!" at Stumpy and laughing when she beats him, while normally she would console him about it, and Mr. Cat is nice to everyone and keeps yelling about [[MakesSenseInContext how delicious sausages are]].
** In Episode 147, Kaeloo and Mr. Cat are nice to each other and to [[TheChewToy Stumpy]], when usually they would spend the episode fighting each other and bullying Stumpy.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': Lincoln's normally street-wise demeanor when it comes to living with his ten sisters is suddenly ignored in the episode "Brawl in the Family" when he has no idea of the so-called "sister fight protocol" that occurs whenever two or more of his sisters fight. It's possible that this was just the one thing he didn't know, but given how easy it was for him to deal with living with his sisters in the episodes beforehand, it's a bit hard to swallow here.
* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'': Ordinarily, Chris plays AgentScully to Dan's AgentMulder whenever bizarre or supernatural forces cause Dan's latest misfortune. Not so in "The Magician", where Chris insists that the titular entity has real magic powers, while Dan spends the episode trying to expose his tricks.
* ''WesternAnimation/LesSisters'': While Wendy is usually a CoolBigSis and Marie is an AnnoyingYoungerSibling, in the fourth episode Marie does nothing wrong while Wendy acts like a BigSisterBully, ruins Marie's sleepover and tells her to "go play in traffic".

** In the episode "The Southern Raiders" Azula's normally calm and composed with her threats. She's not only way more bombastic and louder than normal, she's also a fair bit sloppier in the fight against Zuko; giving us the first clues that she's starting to slip.

* Blossom finds out what it's like when Buttercup picks on Bubbles in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' story "Bow Jest" (issue #20). Blossom freaks out when she loses her hairbow early in the story, so Buttercup yanks her chain by stealing it the next day. Mojo Jojo thinks the bow possesses some untapped power when he sees how vulnerable Blossom is without it, so ''he'' steals it. Of all people to put her foot down and set things right again, it's Bubbles.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'':
** In the episode "Ice Sore," Ms. Keane forces her students to go outside in the hot weather, with no concern for their health. This is very jarring because normally, she cares about her students.

* ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' had the episode "Cousin Itt and the Vocational Counselor". In it, the Addams parents were wanting to make Itt into a marriage therapist and they pretended to be a bickering couple, but then Morticia gets angry and thinks Gomez's acting is how he really feels. This is out of character in itself, but usually, on the rare occasions it happens, Morticia just cries while Gomez reassures her he's not like that and she perks up instantly and apologises. In this episode, however, Morticia is ''still'' angry even after Gomez's reassuring her, even to the point of her ''throwing'' things at Gomez and him sleeping on the couch. They do make up the next day, but she still calls him a "cad", implying she's still not convinced he wasn't just acting. To top it all off, she was previously the one who had to remind ''Gomez'' that they were acting, not the other way round. There's also the line she says when they're making up: "I was a fool for sending you out in your bare feet without a thought to your sinuses", which is out of character because they're both ''Addamses'' and in case you didn't know, the Addams family all ''like'' gloomy weather and are generally immune from sickness.

%%* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', there's a particularly jarring example in the ''Conquest'' route where [[ChildOfTwoWorlds Corrin]], the Avatar, finds the leader of a group of pirates, Shura, hiding on their ship. Corrin's siblings want to have him executed, because he is a Hoshidan spy, while Shura pleads his case and says he isn't aligned with Hoshido anymore. The player is given the option over whether to spare Shura or kill him. The problem with this is, Corrin's personality is pretty much a sheltered, painfully naïve AllLovingHero, raised in a tower for most of their life, who complains about death and killing constantly and goes into StupidGood territory at times. This makes the decision to have Shura killed utterly at odds with their established personality, especially since they are told to kill people multiple times before this by King Garon (such as an early scene with Kaze and Rinkah) and [[CreepyGood Leo]] usually has to do the dirty work for them. For Corrin to be given the option of GainingTheWillToKill here seems very random, especially because this is the only time the player gets to make this decision. If their choices influenced Corrin's personality and CharacterDevelopment, that might make more sense, but Corrin remains their annoyingly optimistic, idealistic self, even when forced to make unpleasant choices for the greater good, throughout the game.

* In the ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' side story ''Valley of White Silver'' where Fugenberch is badly wounded and pleading for his life, and ''[[IncorruptiblePurePureness Kircheis]]'' advocates killing him. Even though Fugenberch was sent to kill them, and even though he did [[BerserkButton call Annerose a whore]], shooting a man in cold blood is something Kircheis would usually object to. Of course, Fugenberch was effectively DoomedByCanon anyway...

%%* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', there's a particularly jarring example in the ''Conquest'' route where [[ChildOfTwoWorlds Corrin]], the Avatar, finds the leader of a group of pirates, Shura, hiding on their ship. Corrin's siblings want to have him executed, because he is a Hoshidan spy, while Shura pleads his case and says he isn't aligned with Hoshido anymore. The player is given the option over whether to spare Shura or kill him. The problem with this is, Corrin's personality is pretty much a sheltered, painfully naïve AllLovingHero, raised in a tower for most of their life, who complains about death and killing constantly and goes into StupidGood territory at times. This makes the decision to have Shura killed utterly at odds with their established personality, especially since they are told to kill people multiple times before this by King Garon (such as an early scene with Kaze and Rinkah) and [[CreepyGood Leo]] usually has to do the dirty work for them. For Corrin to be given the option of GainingTheWillToKill here seems very random, especially because this is the only time the player gets to make this decision. If their choices influenced Corrin's personality and CharacterDevelopment, that might make more sense, but Corrin [[StaticCharacter remains their annoyingly optimistic, idealistic self]], even when forced to make unpleasant choices for the greater good, throughout the game.

* The Wrestling/BrockLesnar and Wrestling/RonKillings R-Truth segment on the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf8Yt3lu1E0 01/30/2020 of Wrestling/WWERAW]]. R-Truth is known to have promos that will make people laugh shard enough to break character. Brock Lesnar, though billed as an unstoppable beast, couldn't resist laughing so hard on television; it is even better that Brock Lesnar WANTS TO work with R-Truth backstage for future segments.

** Bubbles has one in the Emmy-nominee "Bubblevicious." While her trying to prove her toughness despite her rep as a "crybaby" was pretty epic, what makes her out of character is that she savagely beats up a couple civilians for minor infractions and a dog for one traffic incident. Granted, they're crimes regardless how minor they were, but it still doesn't justify [[DisproportionateRetribution Bubbles' actions towards them]] and could even be tantamount to PoliceBrutality. Moreover, none of the characters she savagely beats up even do anything to motivate her attitude, yet she shows no remorse for her actions after that. What makes this especially egregious is that [[DoubleStandard had Buttercup been the one who did anything like this, she would automatically be given a]] WhatTheHellHero [[DoubleStandard reaction from others who had witness it]].

** Bubbles has one in the Emmy-nominee "Bubblevicious." While her trying to prove her toughness despite her rep as a "crybaby" was pretty epic, what makes her out of character is that she savagely beats up a couple civilians for minor infractions and a dog for one traffic incident. Granted, they're crimes regardless how minor they were, but it still doesn't justify [[DisproportionateRetribution Bubbles' actions for them]] and could even be tantamount to PoliceBrutality. Moreover, none of the characters she savagely beats up even do anything to motivate her attitude, yet she shows no remorse for her actions after that. What makes this especially egregious is that [[DoubleStandard had Buttercup been the one who did anything like this, she would automatically be given a]] WhatTheHellHero [[DoubleStandard reaction from others who had witness it]].

** Bubbles has one in the Emmy-nominee "Bubblevicious."

* In ''Series/BreakingBad'' there are two such moments from Mike; [[spoiler:when a little boy is shot by one of the men working under him, he votes to keep the guy on. Even more jarring is in his final episode, he abandons his beloved granddaughter and leaves her alone at the park so he can escape the police. The actor playing Mike, Jonathan Banks, particularly objected to the second example and felt it was extremely out of character given how much Mike loves his granddaughter, but went along with it out of respect for the writers]].

* The [[NeverLiveItDown very controversial scene]] in ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' where Samus Aran, a stoic fearless space bounty hunter, goes in a HeroicBSOD upon seeing her archnemesis Ridley. She already faced said antagonist ''six times'' at this point (once in the original game and ''Prime 1'' and twice in ''Prime 3'' and ''Super Metroid'' each) and never showed such behavior even when he supposedly died in a previous encounter.
%%* In ''VideoGame/YuGiOhReshefOfDestruction'', Seto Kaiba gets an EvilLaugh that's written as "Wahahahaha!"

** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E16ScuseMeWhileIKissTheSky 'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky]]", Nelson throws a ball of mud at Bart. How does Bart respond? He doesn't retaliate or confront Nelson, he just collapses on the floor crying. It's quite jarring.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'': [[Characters/JoJosBizarreAdventureJosephJoestar Joseph Joestar]], is, by all indications, HappilyMarried to Suzi Q. Despite that, he ends up cheating on her with a Japanese woman named Tomoko four years prior to [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Part 3]], an affair that leads to her having a son, [[HeroicBastard Josuke Higashikata]], TheHero of [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Part 4]]. It's unclear why Joseph became dissatisfied with their marriage or sought out his mistress, so the infidelity comes off as out-of-character for him.

* A mention in a Creator/CarlBarks comic of Scrooge having driven an entire village of African natives off their land to plant a rubber plantation represented a massive stumbling block for Creator/DonRosa, as it contrasts with Scrooge's honor code of making money (fair and) "Square". (Nevermind the fact that Barks himself [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrooge_McDuck#Morality_and_beliefs acknowledged]] that exploitation exists in the natural order.) Rosa decided to portray this incident as [[MyGreatestFailure Scrooge's single most regretted act]] in ''ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck''.

** During a battle against an army of Doomsday clones in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'', Franchise/{{Batman}} notices that something's wrong. Before ComicBook/LexLuthor handed the beast over to ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, Doomsday had finally displayed some degree of sentience-- yet the clones are almost mindless and bestial. Batman realizes that the clones are imperfect and easily destroyable, hence they're a mere distraction to keep the heroes busy with while Darkseid's agents nab Kara.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' has the mission "Deconstruction", in which Carl kills several construction workers (and even ''buries the foreman alive in concrete'') who had catcalled and harassed his sister Kendl. Several fans consider this a genuinely disturbing and creepy radical personality change suffered by the protagonist Carl, going from a JerkWithAHeartOfGold to a lunatic homicidal maniac that would make Catalina proud.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' has Trevor, who normally despises the word "motherfucker", and Franklin, who is normally TheStoic. Once scene late in the game has Trevor trip over a fence, Franklin break out into hysterical laughter, and Trevor call him a motherfucker in a fit of rage. This is a result of a ThrowItIn after Creator/StevenOgg legitimately tripped over a fence during mo-cap recording and rolled with Shawn Fonteno's knee-jerk reaction.

** This ends up happening to Rotor Walrus in an ill-fated attempt at CharacterizationMarchesOn; to explain why Rotor chose retirement on the Council of Acorn over being a full-fledged Freedom Fighter, it's revealed in issue #215 that, during a missing year in the comics when Sonic was lost in space and presumed dead, Rotor attempted to take his place out of boredom and a sense of wanting to be useful, and ''wound up nearly killing his friends in the process''. Please note that this is a HollywoodGeek who is claimed by the same writer who did this story to have taught ''Tails'' everything he knew about mechanics, and is famous for preferring being MissionControl over being a hero.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E8LetsKillHitler "Let's Kill Hitler"]]: The Doctor explains "she's been brainwashed, plus, she's a woman!" when claiming that River Song is trying to kill him right after trying to marry him, and then pleads to be given some leeway for his comments because he's just been poisoned. It's a line [[SocietyMarchesOn right out of the Troughton era]] which makes no sense in context, since the Doctor wasn't raised in and has never been culturally assimilated into a sexist society, so he wouldn't fall back on stereotypes even in a moment of extreme stress.

* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'': Garfield actually [[https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/1979/05/28 said that he likes Mondays]] well after "I hate Mondays" had been established as his CatchPhrase. It's also parodied in [[http://garfield.com/comic/1981-10-05 this]] strip.

* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'':
** Garfield actually [[http://garfield.com/comic/1979-05-28 said that he likes Mondays]] well after "I hate Mondays" had been established as his CatchPhrase. It's also parodied in [[http://garfield.com/comic/1981-10-05 this]] strip.
** Garfield and Jon seem to have switched personalities [[https://garfield.com/comic/1983/09/22 in this strip.]]

** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with Tywin Lannister's discussion on how Joffrey must learn to forgive his enemies and help them back up if they submit. This sounds strange coming from a man who has a reputation for being brutal and making "sharp lessons" out of people who defy him. However, ''he'' is not the one who is expected to be merciful in this situation, the enemies in question aren't the ones who personally offended him, and there's a recurring theme in the books about how he is a huge {{Hypocrite}}, although he hides it well.