History Main / StolenMacGuffinReveal

* In one episode of ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'']], a Spidermonkey named Simian tricks Ben, Gwen, and Kevin into stealing a Crystal to stop a war on his Home Planet, only to discover he made it all up and the Crystal is actually the Power Source to an intergalactic communication, in order to take it, no one will be able to called for help when the Highbreed invade. Simian seemingly wins and takes the box that the Crystal is. However, Ben was became fully aware of what was going on after saving the Guard and he had the Crystal all aong. When Simian gives him the box to the Highbreed who hired him, the Box is reveal to have a DNAlien ear cleaner, realized that Ben had outsmarted him, he now faces his angry boss.

* In one episode of ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce''], a Spidermonkey named Simian tricks Ben, Gwen, and Kevin into stealing a Crystal to stop a war on his Home Planet, only to discover he made it all up and the Crystal is actually the Power Source to an intergalactic communication, in order to take it, no one will be able to called for help when the Highbreed invade. Simian seemingly wins and takes the box that the Crystal is. However, Ben was became fully aware of what was going on after saving the Guard and he had the Crystal all aong. When Simian gives him the box to the Highbreed who hired him, the Box is reveal to have a DNAlien ear cleaner, realized that Ben had outsmarted him, he now faces his angry boss.

* In ''Film/{{Sneakers}}'', it's revealed that the good guys win because Martin surreptitiously stole a piece of the McGuffin device in the end.

* In ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'', Knuckles went on a quest to find and retrieve the Sword of Acorns and, thanks to Mammoth Mogul's treachery, was able to get the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix to fight each other. In the scuffle, Knuckles returns the sword, but it's revealed at the end that Mogul has the real sword in his possession. A few issues later, Sally calls back Knuckles in an attempt to ask him to try to retrieve it again after she, Rotor and Sonic find out the sword they have a fake (with Sonic quipping "What's fake? The sword or the cockamamie story?")

* Played with in Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Literature/ANightInTheLonesomeOctober'': one of the supporting characters attempts one of these to give his side an advantage in the final showdown, but he misjudges it with the result that his side comes close to losing before he explains what he did.
* Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' ends on this note. A small army of dwarfs and trolls are scouring a cavern for a MacGuffin but Corporal Nobby Nobbs, with the infamous Nobbs' Sidle, already snagged it.
* In ''Literature/TreasureIsland'', Silver's crew finally reach the place where Captain Flint buried his treasure, only to find that it had been dug up already. Turns out [[{{Robinsonade}} a marooned Ben Gunn]] had found it years earlier and kept it hidden inside a cave.

* In ''[[Literature/AuntDimity Aunt Dimity: Snowbound]]'', the hikers prove to be [[spoiler: the offspring of the American G.I.s who stole the Peacock Parure. They have the jewels with them]], and the plot goes from locating them to returning them to their proper location.
* Played with in ''Literature/ANightInTheLonesomeOctober'': During the climax, the bad guys appear to be winning, and then the larcenous wannabe-hero reveals that he switched out a key MacGuffin. However, he speaks up because he's realised that ''because'' he switched out the MacGuffin, which inadvertantly put a spoke in the heroes' main plan, the villains are now ''actually'' winning, and something needs to be done about it quickly or the heroes will lose.

* In ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'', Knuckles went on a quest to find and retrieve the Sword of Acorns and, thanks to Mammoth Mogul's treachery, was able to get the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix to fight each other. In the scuffle, Knuckles returns the sword, but it's revealed at the end that Mogul has the real sword in his possession. A few issues later, Sally calls back Knuckles in an attempt to ask him to try to retrieve it again after she, Rotor and Sonic find out the sword they have a fake (with Sonic quipping "What's fake? The sword or the cockamamie story?")

* Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Discworld/{{Thud}}'' ends on this note. A small army of dwarfs and trolls are scouring a cavern for a MacGuffin but Corporal Nobby Nobbs, with the infamous Nobbs' Sidle, already snagged it.

* ''Disney/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad'': In the ''Wind in the Willows'' segment, the four main characters try to reclaim the deed to Toad Hall from Winky and his weasel gang; after the deed is folded into a paper airplane and sent flying, Toad tries to make things difficult for the villains by launching dozens of them. After the four barely make it out with their lives, [=MacBadger=] laments that they didn't succeed, only for Toad to smugly take a paper plane out of his coat and unfold it to reveal the real deed.
* In ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'', immediately after thinking he's escaped from the Cave of Wonders, Jafar discovers he no longer has the lamp; cue BigNo. ''Then'' it's revealed, when Aladdin thinks Jafar got away with it, that Abu has stolen it back from him.
* ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'':

There's a MacGuffin everyone is after and the BigBad has just managed to snatch it right out of the Hero's hands and is [[EvilLaugh laughing]] as they make their escape, with TheHero left in a bit of a HeroicBSOD. But wait! The PluckyComicRelief, team thief, or even a [[HiddenDepths less obviously sneaky]] character suddenly brightens the mood by revealing that they've just done the same--stole the MacGuffin right out from under the villain's nose as he made his escape, too. Being a cheeky larcenist, the thief may even taunt the retreating villain with it, though they usually replace the stolen MacGuffin with a flawless decoy, worthless rock, mocking note, or other means of taunting the villain. If the MacGuffin is in a case, the thief may do a SatchelSwitcheroo.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* ''Disney/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad'': In the ''Wind in the Willows'' segment, the four main characters try to reclaim the deed to Toad Hall from Winky and his weasel gang; after the deed is folded into a paper airplane and sent flying, Toad tries to make things difficult for the villains by launching dozens of them. After the four barely make it out with their lives, [=MacBadger=] laments that they didn't succeed, only for Toad to smugly take a paper plane out of his coat and unfold it to reveal the real deed.

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

* At one point in ''Film/SchindlersList,'' factory workers steal the firing mechanism from a pistol belonging to ThoseWackyNazis.

* ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'' has Holmes reveal he stole Moriarty's red notebook with all his funds and assets. Though he doesn't hold the original, he gloats in having replaced it with one that he creatively drew a fisherman eaten by a shark in.
* ''Film/TheMummyTrilogy''
** In ''Film/TheMummy1999'', the final fight leads to Imhotep briefly trying to kill Jon before Rick takes his arm off with a sword, leading Imhotep to go for him instead, by which time the [[ChekhovsSkill the kleptomaniac Jon]] has already filched the key to the Book of the Dead.
** In ''Film/TheMummyReturns'' some bad guys steal a chest they think contains the Bracelet of Anubis but when they open it they find Alex's baseball trophy because Alex already took the bracelet out of the chest and put it on.
* In ''Film/OzTheGreatAndPowerful'', at the end of the battle between [[spoiler:Evanora and Glinda, it looks as if Evanora has won. Until Glinda opens her hand and reveals Evanora's necklace (the source of her power) crushed in her palm.]]
* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', it happens twice.
** As they make their escape from the Kyln, Peter Quill/Starlord returns to the prison to get an important possession of his that was confiscated, but leaves the other cast members on his ship. They scramble to find the orb, only for the camera to pan to Peter as he's tossing the orb around, keeping it as extra insurance to make sure they don't leave without him.
** After the final battle ends, [[spoiler: Yondu threatens to kill Peter if he doesn't turn over the Infinity Stone. Only he switches orbs (giving Yondu his own empty orb and keeping the one Gamora used to capture the stone) and doesn't come clean until well after the Ravagers depart.]]
* The most pivotal moment of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' is one of these, pulled at the last second. [[spoiler:Thanos has freed himself from all assailants and has all Infinity Stones on his gauntlet. He's about to snap his fingers for the last time, claiming he is inevitable... only for nothing to happen when he does; his gauntlet is empty. Instead, Iron Man has stolen all the stones and set them upon ''his'' gauntlet, which lets him perform his own BadassFingersnap to finally undo everything that is Thanos]].

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* When Clara tries to invoke this trope in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven "Face the Raven"]] it backfires ''badly.'' Putting the tattoo (and associated death sentence) on Rigsy was just a MacGuffin for those who put it there; its sole purpose was to attract the Doctor's attention and lure him into a trap. Clara secretly got the tattoo transferred to herself with the idea of making a reveal of it and disrupting the plans of whoever was behind it all, but found she couldn't get rid of it [[DeathByGenreSavviness or the sentence]].
* In the ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' episode "The Top Hat Job" they do this in a rather clever fashion, fitting as they are thieves. [[spoiler: As the VillainOfTheWeek is busily erasing the incriminating files about the tainted food his company was selling, he forgot an important detail, those weren't the most important thing on the company servers. Team hacker Hardison steals the company food patents, worth millions, and downloads them to the baddie's cell phone as they captured Hardison with his hard drive. After Hardison convinces the baddie to walk outside, Parker pickpockets the phone with the information and Nate uses that to blackmail him into pulling the tainted food.]] In general this is a fairly common concept on the show and one of Parker's specialties, she almost always [[ItWorksBetterWithBullets does this with guns]].

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'', Jake and the others try to steal back a pot of stolen leprechaun gold from the evil wizard Pandarus. They end up getting caught while escaping and are forced to make a quick getaway and leave behind the pot. Just before they can begin contemplating a new plan, Jake reveals he had swapped out the gold into a saxophone case, leaving Pandarus with a pot full of stew.

** When Nick and Judy [[spoiler: crash the drug lab hidden in a subway train and it explodes]], Judy is sure that all of the evidence is has been destroyed. Then Nick reveals that [[spoiler: when he jumped clear, he made sure to hang onto the briefcase containing Doug's pellet gun, saving some of the evidence.]]

* When Clara [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy tries to invoke this trope]] in the [[Series/DoctorWho Doctor Who]] episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven "Face the Raven"]] it backfires ''badly.'' Putting the tattoo (and associated death sentence) on Rigsy was just a MacGuffin for those who put it there; its sole purpose was to attract the Doctor's attention and lure him into a trap. Clara secretly got the tattoo transferred to herself with the idea of making a reveal of it and disrupting the plans of whoever was behind it all, but found she couldn't get rid of it [[DeathByGenreSavviness or the sentence]].

* When Clara [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy tries to invoke this trope]] in the [[Series/DoctorWho Doctor Who]] episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven "Face the Raven"]] it backfires ''badly.'' Putting the tattoo (and associated death sentence) on Rigsy was just a MacGuffin for those who put it there; its sole purpose was to attract the Doctor's attention and lure him into a trap. Clara secretly got the tattoo transferred to herself with the idea of making a reveal of it and disrupting the plans of whoever was behind it all, but discovered she couldn't get rid of it or the sentence.

* Backfires ''badly'' in the Doctor Who episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven Face the Raven]]. Putting the tattoo (and associated death sentence) on Rigsy was just a MacGuffin for those who put it there - its sole purpose was to attract the Doctor's attention and lure him into a trap. Clara secretly got the tattoo transferred to herself with the idea of making a reveal of it and disrupting the plans of whoever was behind it all, but discovered she couldn't get rid of it.

* Backfires ''badly'' in the Doctor Who episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven Face the Raven]]. Putting the tattoo (and associated death sentence) on Rigsy was just a way of attracting the Doctor's attention and luring him into a trap. Clara secretly got the tattoo transferred to herself with the idea of making a reveal of it and disrupting the plans of whoever's behind it all, but discovered she couldn't get rid of it.

* Backfires ''badly'' in the Doctor Who episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven]]. Putting the tattoo (and associated death sentence) on Rigsy was just a way of attracting the Doctor's attention and luring him into a trap. Clara secretly got the tattoo transferred to herself with the idea of making a reveal of it and disrupting the plans of whoever's behind it all, but discovered she couldn't get rid of it.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'', Jake and the others try to steal back a pot of stolen leprechaun gold from the evil wizard Pandarus. They end up getting caught while escaping and are forced to make a quick getaway and leave behind the pot. Just before they can begin contemplating a new plan, Jake reveals he had swapped out the gold into a saxophone case, leaving Pandarus with a lot full of stew.

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* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', after the final battle ends, [[spoiler: Yondu threatens to kill Peter if he doesn't turn over the Infinity Stone. Only he switches orbs (giving Yondu his own empty orb and keeping the one Gamora used to capture the stone) and doesn't come clean until well after the Ravagers depart.]]

** When Nick and Judy [[spoiler: crash the stolen train car and it explodes]], Judy is sure that all of the evidence is has been destroyed. Then Nick reveals that [[spoiler: when he jumped clear, he made sure to hang onto the briefcase, saving some of the evidence.]]
* ''Disney/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad'': In the ''Wind in the Willows'' segment, the four main characters try to reclaim the deed to Toad Hall from Winky and his weasel gang; after the deed is folded into a paper airplane and sent flying, Toad tries to make things difficult for the villains by launching dozens of them. After the four barely make it out with their loves, [=MacBadger=] laments that they didn't succeed, only for Toad to smugly take a paper plane out of his coat and unfold it to reveal the deed.

* In ''Film/TheFifthElement'', the case carrying the four stones needed to stop The Evil is fought over intensely. After villain Zorg finally gets it, it's amusingly revealed to be empty, much to Zorg's frustration. Their guardian, Plavalaguna, showed how seriously she takes guarding them by revealing she [[spoiler:hid them in her stomach]].

* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', after the final battle ends, [[spoiler: Yondu threatens to kill Peter if he doesn't turn over the Infinity Stone. Only he switches orbs (giving Yondu his own orb and keeping Gamora's) and doesn't come clean until well after the Ravagers depart.]]

** When Nick and Judy [[spoiler: crash the stolen train car and it explodes]], Judy is sure that all of the evidence is has been destroyed. Then Nick reveals that [[spoiler: when he jumped clear of the wreck, he made sure to hang onto the briefcase, which was the most important piece of evidence anyway.]]

** During Judy's MinorKidroduction, after she confronts Gideon over stolen fair tickets, he pins her to the ground, telling her to "remember this moment" whenever she thinks a bunny can be a cop. When he leaves, she admits she ''will'' remember that moment -- because that's when she stole the tickets back.

* In ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', when Nick and Judy [[spoiler: crash the stolen train car and it explodes]], Judy is sure that all of the evidence is has been destroyed. Then Nick reveals that [[spoiler: when he jumped clear of the wreck, he made sure to hang onto the briefcase, which was the most important piece of evidence anyway.]]

* In ''Film/TheSoundOfMusic'', the Von Trap family manages to escape pursuing Nazis because the nuns at the convent they are hiding in "sin" by removing engine components from the Nazis' cars.