History Main / SuddenlyEthnicity

* ''Comicbook/BatmanEndgame'', a comic that - like so many other stories featuring ComicBook/TheJoker - is wildly speculative, floats the possibility that the Joker, whose early life and background are almost completely unknown, could, under his chemical-bleached skin (which is even suggested to be makeup at one point in the narrative), be fully or part American Indian, or at least [[TheCaptivityNarrative an outsider reared in that culture from birth]] [[HalfBreed (perhaps a descendant of one of the English/Native "lost colonies" from elsewhere in America)]]. Nothing explicit is ever spoken, but Dr. Paul Dekker, AKA Crazy Quilt, tells Batman that the Joker revealed to him that [[spoiler: he is [[Really700YearsOld actually a 400-year-old being]], rendered semi-immortal by a cell-reconstructing chemical called dionesium that he found in a cave beneath Gotham City centuries ago. Crazy Quilt even shows Batman one of his mad paintings, which depicts the Joker standing on a bluff in colonial dress, already waiting when the first European sailing ship is arriving in Gotham Harbor. Part of the story is true: dionesium is indeed real, and there is a cave beneath Gotham that contains a pool of it. But Batman doubts all the other details from the beginning - and, after questioning Uriah Boone, a resurrected assassin for the Court of Owls society and the only person confirmed to have been alive in Gotham in the 17th century, concludes from Boone's body language that his claim that the whole story is true is a lie.]] Indeed, the comic ultimately suggests that the tale is merely [[MultipleChoicePast one more colorful fabrication on the Joker's part]] - [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane although the last two pages of the comic subtly hint otherwise]]. However, the theory that the Joker has Native ancestry is pretty plausible when you consider that the only other possible interpretation of Dekker's account is that [[HumanoidAbomination he's not human]].

* {{Averted|Trope}} by Ferro Lad in the ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}. The writer's original intention was that after a few issues Ferro Lad would remove his helmet, revealing himself to be black - and that no one would bat an eye, since it was the future and no one cared about that sort of thing anymore. Unfortunately, [[ExecutiveMeddling the editor nixed it]], saying they'd lose sales in [[DeepSouth the South]], and the writer [[HeroicSacrifice killed Ferro Lad off]] as a form of protest.

* {{Downplayed}} in the ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' spin-off ''[=HorrorLand=]'' books, which bring back EnsembleDarkhorse Billy Deep (from ''Deep Trouble'' and ''Deep Trouble II'') as a recurring character. Apparently, he's Asian, though neither his surname nor his own books gave any hint of that. Depending on your perspective, this may be because of TheAllConcealingI or Creator/RLStine making it up as he goes along.

In these melting-pot days, it is on the way to being a DiscreditedTrope. Compare SamusIsAGirl. Contrast ButNotTooForeign where a seemingly foreign character is revealed to be at least partially a member of the target audience's nationality. Compare ''and'' contrast HalfHumanHybrids, where a "human" character is revealed to be partially an animal or a mythical creature.

* In Creator/DCComics, ComicBook/BlackManta was revealed to be black in 1977, ''ten years'' after his debut. Notably, he attempts to use his race to trick people into following him by claiming his actions against Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} were in an attempt to make Atlantis a paradise for minorities all along. This is, naturally, a total lie he used to personal gain, which amusingly still leads to the aesop that all races are indeed equal: in that all of them are capable of producing jerks (further reinforced by the revelation that he suffers from a form of Autism, which is played as a FreudianExcuse prompting Aquaman to later magically cure him...and the first thing Black Manta does afterwards is stab Aquaman and brag about having murdered his infant son).

Interestingly, if the character didn't know about their ''own'' ancestry beforehand, TheReveal often will trigger (at least in more fanciful works) a major personality overhaul. The character will now be fully conscious of their [[InTheBlood "blood"]] and begin identifying as an ethnic minority and [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore seeing the world in a much different light]]. Or, their might be unimpressed and attempt to play down their pedigree and become annoyed if anyone brings it up as something supposedly important.

* In Creator/DCComics, Black Manta was revealed to be black in 1977, ''ten years'' after his debut. Notably, he attempts to use his race to trick people into following him by claiming his actions against Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} were in an attempt to make Atlantis a paradise for minorities all along. This is, naturally, a total lie he used to personal gain, which amusingly still leads to the aesop that all races are indeed equal: in that all of them are capable of producing jerks (further reinforced by the revelation that he suffers from a form of Autism, which is played as a FreudianExcuse prompting Aquaman to later magically cure him...and the first thing Black Manta does afterwards is stab Aquaman and brag about having murdered his infant son).

[[quoteright:231:[[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/black_manta_unmasked.png]]]]

* PlayedForLaughs on ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}},'' which will sometimes have [[SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaid Bender]] exhibit stereotypically Hispanic traits to remind us that he was manufactured in Mexico. (His last name, incidentally, is revealed to be Rodriguez). Interestingly enough, when Professor Farnsworth's invention during a What-If Machine segment turns him human however, he appears very white with blond hair.
** And an in-universe example when Hermes mentions that he's Jamaican.

* In the ChristmasEpisode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'', it's suddenly revealed that several of the characters (who are all presented as animals) are actually from different ethnic backgrounds (The Brain is African-American, Francine and her family are Jewish, etc.). Francine seems to get it the hardest, as during the episode Muffy invites her to a Christmas party and gets really mad when she turns her down, thus giving the episode an excuse to talk about Hanukkah. Another episode has her trying to get through the Yom Kippur fast.

* In the ''WebVideo/VampireReviews'' list of "Top 10 Female Vampires," Maven laments the fact that she couldn't find any non-white vamps interesting enough to mention. However, one of her entries was ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'''s Marceline (see below), so in her later review of the ''Stakes'' miniseries, she expresses joy that she had one all along.

** In the episode "Ferret Quest", we learn that [[NatureHero Wildernessa]] is Hispanic, as she refers to her grandmother as "abuela", and holds a conversation with Stacks (also Hispanic) in fluent Hispanic.

** During the period where [[ComicBook/WarMachine James Rhodes]] filled in for Tony Stark as Iron Man, he gets captured by the Mandarin. The Mandarin is shocked when Rhodey removes his helmet, as he had always assumed there was a white man under the armor.

[[caption-width-right:231:...to be honest, we just assumed it was because of the [[ColorCharacter color of your costume]].]]

** In the episode "Kelsey The Author", we learn that Stacks' full name is "Isabella Alvarez", and that she is fluent in Spanish.

*** Speaking of Armenian, Moe Syzlak is apparently half Armenian and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick half monster]]. [[MultipleChoicePast Although never mind that he seems to come from another European country each time it's brought up]].

* Played for Laughs in ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' episode "The Gang Gets Trapped" where the gang sneak into a family's house who wear cowboy boots, speak in a southern drawl and the gang calls them southerners. They turn out to be [[spoiler:Asian.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Dee:''' It ''was'' [[LampshadeHanging weird that they were Asian, right?]]]]

In these melting-pot days, it is on the way to being a DiscreditedTrope. Compare SuddenlySexuality, SamusIsAGirl. Contrast ButNotTooForeign where a seemingly foreign character is revealed to be at least partially a member of the target audience's nationality. Compare ''and'' contrast HalfHumanHybrids, where a "human" character is revealed to be partially an animal or a mythical creature.

* In episode 5 of ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'', it's abruptly revealed that Diane and her family are Vietnamese. Then again, she does have the very-Vietnamese surname of Nguyen. In Episode 7, Todd's last name is revealed to be Chavez (implying him to be of Latin heritage), something Princess Carolyn is briefly thrown off by.

The other characters are surprised, or ''shocked''. More importantly, the audience is expected to be surprised as well. Ideally, the character will need to keep covered up before the reveal, or have non-obvious features. Otherwise the trope provides comedy, [[EverybodyKnewAlready possibly intentional]].

Interestingly, if the character didn't know about his/her ''own'' ancestry beforehand, TheReveal often will trigger (at least in more fanciful works) a major personality overhaul. The character will now be fully conscious of his/her [[InTheBlood "blood"]] and begin identifying as an ethnic minority and [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore seeing the world in a much different light]]. Or, he/she might be unimpressed and attempt to play down his/her pedigree, and become annoyed if anyone brings it up as something supposedly important.

In these melting-pot days it is on the way to being a DiscreditedTrope. Compare SuddenlySexuality, SamusIsAGirl. Contrast ButNotTooForeign where a seemingly foreign character is revealed to be at least partially a member of the target audience's nationality. Compare ''and'' contrast HalfHumanHybrids, where a "human" character is revealed to be partially an animal or a mythical creature.

* Creator/JuddWinick, the writer who established Ice's Romani heritage, previously declared that [[Franchise/GreenLantern Kyle Rayner's]] father was a Mexican-American named Gabriel Vasquez rather than an Irish-American named Aaron Rayner, with Aaron retconned into being an alias he used while undercover. This was further solidified after the ''Comicbook/{{New 52}}'' reboot, which established that Kyle was aware of his Latino ancestry from the very beginning, with ''Comicbook/OmegaMen'' even depicting him as a fluent Spanish speaker. This is a far cry from Kyle's early appearances, which instead placed a great deal of emphasis on his Irish heritage, with he and his mother Maura sometimes speaking in Gaelic to each other.
* Mister Bones, a former DC villain turned government operative (head of the Department of Extranormal Operations), has among his powers transparent skin and organs, leaving him looking to all the world like a skeleton. Eventually, it turns out that he's ethnically black, and can appear so through use of make-up. At one point, Comicbook/{{Manhunter}} (Kate Spencer) tries to guilt trip him into getting involved in a border dispute by claiming he has "forgotten what his skin color is". Bones predictably chews her out and ends the conversation.

* Jim Valentino's ''Comicbook/{{Shadowhawk}}'' remained masked during his first arc. Midway through his second arc he encountered a white-supremacist named Hawk's Shadow, [[EvilCounterpart who modeled himself after Shadowhawk]]. When Shadowhawk encountered Hawk's Shadow, who bragged that he viciously killed black people, the infuriated Shadowhawk removed his mask and shouted, [[BerserkButton "You mean like ME?"]]
* Spider-Man, who has an everpresent full facemask and a costume that covers every inch of his skin, was once asked to reveal why he thought J. Jonah Jameson hated him in a court room. His response "it's because I'm black." Jonah then tried to back pedal, saying something along the lines of "I'm not racist! I have a TokenBlackFriend!" (which he does, but phrasing it like that didn't earn him any brownie points) and then is utterly humiliated along with his lawyer when Spidey gleefully declares "just kidding!". HilariousInHindsight now there actually IS a black Spider-Man in the ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan books.

* The Golden Age heroine Miss Patriot had the real name Mary Morgan. In a 2015 ''Comicbook/AntMan'' issue, it was revealed that her real name was Mary Morgenstern (a Jewish last name), and that her family had changed it back in the 1930's to avoid the antisemitism that was rampant back then.

** Played more seriously in the scene from ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'' this is parodying. Duncan lets out a long curse at Moors, and then realizes the guy he's talking to is named "Azeem".

* In ''North and South'' Madeline Fabray is 1/8 black, but keeps it a carefully guarded secret.
* ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'' reveals that Anna and Elsa's mother, Queen Iduna, was ethnically Northuldra ([[FantasyCounterpartCulture who are based on the Sámi people]]), but she was light-skinned enough to pass for Arendellian ([[FantasyCounterpartCulture majority white Europeans/viking Norwegians]]). She concealed her true heritage from everyone except her husband because of her people's associations with magic, which Arendelle greatly fears.

* The protagonist of Gautam Malkani's ''Londonstani'' is named Jas, and supposedly has an unpronounceable last name. He spends most of the novel immersed in British Asian youth culture, but is nevertheless revealed to be a white Brit named Jason Bartholomew-Cliveden near the end.

* In ''Series/AllInTheFamily'', Archie is in the hospital and befriends the patient in the bed next to his, not realizing (because they're separated by a curtain and he speaks in a sophisticated-sounding French accent) that the guy is black. In another episode, Archie's good friend "Stretch" Cunningham dies and at the funeral Archie discovers he was Jewish.
* In ''Series/{{MASH}}'', Frank Burns gripes that, being left with a North Korean patient, he's stuck with the Indians while Hawkeye gets the 'cowboys'. Colonel Potter's response? 'I'm one quarter Cherokee.' Frank is left mollified. (In fact, he raises his hand and says, "How.")

** Same applies for Cyrax, who is from Botswana, Africa. his SuddenlyEthnicity moment comes at the end of Mortal Kombat Gold, after his faceplate is removed.

* In the ''WebVideo/VampireReviews'' list of "Top 10 Female Vampires," Maven laments the fact that she couldn't find any non-white vamps interesting enough to mention. However, one of her entries was ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'''s Marceline (see below), so in her later review of the ''Stakes'' miniseries she expresses joy that she had one all along.

** A group of neighborhood members meet, including a high-pitched agoraphobic who contacts the others on speaker phone. Those who didn't already know him are surprised later when they meet him and find out he's Black.
** When Francine's parents are first introduced they turn out to be a rather stereotypical Chinese couple. Turns out she was adopted and her maiden name was Ling.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'' has an episode where Cleveland gathers a diverse group of people together to discuss something, then looks surprised as the AmbiguouslyBrown woman in a hijab speaks with a Hispanic accent. ("What, I can't ''dress'' how I want?!") Later Cleveland says something shocking and she cries "''[[GratuitousFrench Sacre bleu]]!''

* Pony from ''WesternAnimation/ChinaIL'' is AmbiguouslyBrown, and is only revealed to be Hispanic thanks to a throwaway line which mentions that her brother is plastic surgeon in Mexico. This is even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d when she asks her friends if they're even aware that she's Mexican.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': [[DarkSkinnedRedhead Lars']] ethnicity was unspecified for most of the show, and the only detail any of the crew gave was that he wasn't white. Lars was eventually implied by various details[[labelnote:note]]"The New Lars" shows his father is tanned-skinned and named "Dante", while his mother is lighter skinned and where he got his orange hair. In "The Good Lars", he has a family recipe for [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ube_halaya ube]]. "Dewey Wins" reveals his surname is "Barriga".[[/labelnote]] to be mixed raced and of Filipino heritage on his father's side.

* Spider-Man, who has an everpresent full facemask and a costume that covers every inch of his skin, was once asked to reveal why he thought J. Jonah Jameson hated him in a court room. His response "it's because I'm black." Jonah then tried to back pedal, saying something along the lines of "I'm not racist! I have a BlackBestFriend!"(which he does, but phrasing it like that didn't earn him any brownie points) and then is utterly humiliated along with his lawyer when Spidey gleefully declares "just kidding!". HilariousInHindsight now there actually IS a black Spider-Man in the ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan books.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' uses AmazingTechnicolorPopulation, but WordOfGod says that [[GeniusDitz Skeeter]] (who's blue) is supposed to be [[BlackBestFriend African-American]]. At one point, Doug's sister Judy refers to Skeeter as "the blue kid."

[[quoteright:180:[[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/black_manta_unmasked3_9920.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:180:[-...to be honest, we just assumed it was because of the [[ColorCharacter color of your costume]].-] ]]

-->--'''Father Alexander Anderson''', ''WebVideo/HellsingUltimateAbridged'' [[note]]In the original series, said Father is simply known as "Father Renaldo".[[/note]]

** Averted in ''ComicBook/SecretWars''. When [[Comicbook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] is helping Rhodey with his armor, Rhodey comments that he must be surprised to learn that Iron Man is black. Reed basically just shrugs and says he'd never given Iron Man's race much thought one way or another.