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* ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'': Mordecai's first love interest, Margaret, leaves for college at the end of season four, just as he's about to formally ask her to be his girlfriend. She returns partway through season six, which causes complications with his current girlfriend CJ, as he still holds an interest in Margaret and she's prone to jealously. By season eight, both Margaret and CJ are effectively written out of the show once more, as Mordecai's indecision regarding his love life pushes them away.
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* ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'': Mordecai's first love interest, Margaret, leaves for college at the end of season four, just as he's about to formally ask her to be his girlfriend. She returns partway through season six, which causes complications with his current girlfriend CJ, as he still holds an interest in Margaret and she's prone to jealously.jealousy. By season eight, both Margaret and CJ are effectively written out of the show once more, as Mordecai's indecision regarding his love life pushes them away.
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* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': Jimmy Pesto became TheVoiceless for three seasons after it was revealed that Jay Johnston had participated in the January 6th insurrection. Pesto finally returned in Season 14, now voiced by Eric Bauza.
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* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': Jimmy Pesto became TheVoiceless for three seasons after it was revealed that Jay Johnston Creator/JayJohnston had participated in the January 6th insurrection. insurrection and was subsequently fired from the show. Pesto finally returned in Season 14, now voiced by Eric Bauza.Creator/EricBauza.
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* ''WesternAnimation/PollyPocket'': The 2018 series had its main antagonists, Griselle and Gwen Grande, disappear for unknown reasons after Season 1. They made a sudden reappearance in the final episode of Season 5.
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* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': Jimmy Pesto became TheVoiceless for three seasons after it was revealed that Jay Johnston had participated in the January 6th insurrection. Pesto finally returned in Season 14, now voiced by Eric Bauza.
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* ''WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}'': After being absent since the Season 2 finale, which had Bob shot into [[EldritchLocation The Web]], Bob returns in episode 10 of Season 3, ''Web Riders on the Storm'', complete with a new character design and voice actor.
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* ''WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}'': ''WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}'':
** The Captain and crew of the ''Saucy Mare'' appeared in a single episode in Season 1. After disappearing for the entirety of Season 2, they returned as major characters in the latter half of Season 3 before disappearing again in ''Daemon Rising'' and only appearing in the background of ''My Two Bobs''.
** After being absent since the Season 2 finale, which had Bob shot into [[EldritchLocation The Web]], Bob returns in episode 10 of Season 3, ''Web Riders on the Storm'', complete with a new character design and voice actor.
** The Captain and crew of the ''Saucy Mare'' appeared in a single episode in Season 1. After disappearing for the entirety of Season 2, they returned as major characters in the latter half of Season 3 before disappearing again in ''Daemon Rising'' and only appearing in the background of ''My Two Bobs''.
** After being absent since the Season 2 finale, which had Bob shot into [[EldritchLocation The Web]], Bob returns in episode 10 of Season 3, ''Web Riders on the Storm'', complete with a new character design and voice actor.
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* WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}: After being absent since the Season 2 finale, which had Bob shot into [[EldritchLocation The Web]], Bob returns in episode 10 of Season 3, ''Web Riders on the Storm'', complete with a new character design and voice actor.
to:
* WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}: ''WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}'': After being absent since the Season 2 finale, which had Bob shot into [[EldritchLocation The Web]], Bob returns in episode 10 of Season 3, ''Web Riders on the Storm'', complete with a new character design and voice actor.
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* WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}: After being absent since the Season 2 finale, which had Bob shot into [[EldritchLocation The Web]], Bob returns in episode 10 of Season 3, ''Web Riders on the Storm'', complete with a new character design and voice actor.
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* Morph in the ''90's {{WesternAnimation/XMen}}''. He was effectively written out after the season 2 finale, returns in a season 4 cameo (compete with [[TookALevelInBadass increased badassness]]) only to disappear again until the final episode.
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* Morph in the ''90's {{WesternAnimation/XMen}}''.''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries''. He was effectively written out after the season 2 finale, returns in a season 4 cameo (compete with [[TookALevelInBadass increased badassness]]) only to disappear again until the final episode.
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* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': Arthur's best friend and major cast member Buster Baxter left midway through season 2, in "Arthur's Faraway Friend" — he was leaving on a year-long trip with his divorced dad, who's an airplane pilot. Both episodes of season 3's premiere deal with his return. In "Buster's Back", Arthur is overjoyed to hear that Buster's finally coming home, but wonders if he'll have changed from his travels. "The Ballad of Buster Baxter" is the opposite, with [[ContinuityPorn Buster noticing everything that happened during his absence]] and feeling left out. However, both episodes have a happy ending, where Buster is once again welcomed into the main cast and stays for good.
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YMMV
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** After the major backlash regarding [[FanNickname Derpy]] in the Season 2 episode "The Last Roundup" and hasty OrwellianRetcon, it was assumed she wouldn't appear again in the show. Despite that, she returns in the finale of Season 3, though given she hasn't been seen in any promotional material for either that season or for Season 4 many saw it as simply a final farewell. [[spoiler:And then she shows up again in "Rainbow Falls" as Rainbow Dash's replacement. Her continued cameos since make it apparent that they wouldn't just eliminate such a fan favorite from the show, and she even got a speaking role in the [[MilestoneCelebration one hundreth episode]] "Slice of Life".]]
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** After the major backlash regarding [[FanNickname Derpy]] Derpy in the Season 2 episode "The Last Roundup" and hasty OrwellianRetcon, it was assumed she wouldn't appear again in the show. Despite that, she returns in the finale of Season 3, though given she hasn't been seen in any promotional material for either that season or for Season 4 many saw it as simply a final farewell. [[spoiler:And then she shows up again in "Rainbow Falls" as Rainbow Dash's replacement. Her continued cameos since make it apparent that they wouldn't just eliminate such a fan favorite from the show, and she even got a speaking role in the [[MilestoneCelebration one hundreth episode]] "Slice of Life".]]
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* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
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* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': ''Franchise/LooneyTunes'':
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*** ''New Looney Tunes'' also brought back Hubie and Bertie, The Martin Brothers, Claude Cat, Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot, Sniffles the Mouse, Frisky Puppy, Clyde Bunny, Mighty Angelo, Mot the baby alien from ''WesternAnimation/RocketByeBaby'' and the EasterBunny from ''WesternAnimation/EasterYeggs''.
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* The 2021 Creator/DisneyPlus series ''Chip n Dale: Park Life'' brought back "Pluto's Quin-puplets" from the 1937 [[WesternAnimation/PlutoThePup Pluto cartoon]] of the same name. Pluto's puplets hadn't been seen in any Disney related media for 84 years.
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* The 2021 Creator/DisneyPlus series ''Chip n Dale: Park Life'' ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleParkLife'' brought back "Pluto's Quin-puplets" from the 1937 [[WesternAnimation/PlutoThePup Pluto cartoon]] of the same name. Pluto's puplets hadn't been seen in any Disney related media for 84 years.
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** Clarice the Chipmunk from the 1952 ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale'' short [[WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts "Two Chips And A Miss"]] is also set to appear in the series after being absent in animation for 69 years.
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** [[WesternAnimation/TwoChipsAndAMiss Clarice the Chipmunk Chipmunk]] from the 1952 ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale'' short [[WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts "Two Chips And A Miss"]] is also set to appear in the series after being absent in animation for 69 years.
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* The 2021 Creator/DisneyPlus series ''Chip n Dale: Park Life'' brought back "Pluto's Quin-puplets" from the 1937 [[WesternAnimation/PlutoThePup cartoon]] of the same name. Pluto's puplets hadn't been seen in any Disney related media for 84 years.
** The series will also bring back Clarice from the 1952 ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale'' short "Two Chips And A Miss" after being absent in animation for 69 years.
** The series will also bring back Clarice from the 1952 ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale'' short "Two Chips And A Miss" after being absent in animation for 69 years.
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* The 2021 Creator/DisneyPlus series ''Chip n Dale: Park Life'' brought back "Pluto's Quin-puplets" from the 1937 [[WesternAnimation/PlutoThePup Pluto cartoon]] of the same name. Pluto's puplets hadn't been seen in any Disney related media for 84 years.
**The series will also bring back Clarice the Chipmunk from the 1952 ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale'' short [[WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts "Two Chips And A Miss" Miss"]] is also set to appear in the series after being absent in animation for 69 years.
**
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* The 2021 Creator/DisneyPlus series ''Chip n Dale: Park Life'' brought back "Pluto's Quin-puplets" from the 1937 [[WesternAnimation/PlutoThePup cartoon]] of the same name. Pluto's puplets hadn't been seen in any Disney related media for 84 years.
** The series will also bring back Clarice from the 1952 ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale'' short "Two Chips And A Miss" after being absent in animation for 69 years.
** The series will also bring back Clarice from the 1952 ''WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale'' short "Two Chips And A Miss" after being absent in animation for 69 years.
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* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
** After characters like Rocky and Mugsy, Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog and the like were missing from most continuations of the franchise for decades, they came back in ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunesCartoons''.
** Gabby Goat was a character who only appeared in a handful of cartoons in 1937, was met with poor reception due to his {{Jerkass}} personality, and was replaced with Daffy as Porky's sidekick. In ''WesternAnimation/NewLooneyTunes'', he appeared for the first time in 80 years, albeit with his personality overhauled to make him more tolerable.
** After characters like Rocky and Mugsy, Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog and the like were missing from most continuations of the franchise for decades, they came back in ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunesCartoons''.
** Gabby Goat was a character who only appeared in a handful of cartoons in 1937, was met with poor reception due to his {{Jerkass}} personality, and was replaced with Daffy as Porky's sidekick. In ''WesternAnimation/NewLooneyTunes'', he appeared for the first time in 80 years, albeit with his personality overhauled to make him more tolerable.
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* Halfway into ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'', Kanga and Roo seemed to disappear from Disney's ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' works. However they made a return in the ''Seasons of Giving'' special almost a decade later, and following ''WesternAnimation/TheTiggerMovie'' were promoted to even bigger roles than they had before. ''Series/TheBookOfPooh'' also coincided with this, introducing them as regulars in Season Two.
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* Halfway into ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'', Kanga and Roo seemed to disappear from Disney's ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' works. However they made a return in the ''Seasons of Giving'' special almost a decade later, and following ''WesternAnimation/TheTiggerMovie'' were promoted to even bigger roles than they had before. ''Series/TheBookOfPooh'' also coincided with this, introducing them as regulars in Season Two.Two.
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** The vaudeville duo Vern and Johnny were shot to death by Stewie in "Saving Private Bryan", who insisted they would not be seen again. They made a reappearance in "Back to the Woods" with Vern as a ghost and Johnny in Hell (because according to Vern, "Johnny liked little boys"). They are also seen briefly in the opening to "A Lot Going On Upstairs", alongside other characters the series had PutOnABus previously, such as salesman Jim Kaplan, police officer Obie, strongmen Phineas & Barnbaby, RJ, and Peter's co-worker Fouad.
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** The vaudeville duo Vern and Johnny were shot to death by Stewie in "Saving Private Bryan", who insisted they would not be seen again. They made a reappearance in "Back to the Woods" with Vern as a ghost and Johnny in Hell (because according to Vern, "Johnny liked little boys"). They are also seen briefly in the opening to "A Lot Going On Upstairs", alongside other characters the series had PutOnABus previously, such as salesman Jim Kaplan, police officer Obie, strongmen Phineas & Barnbaby, RJ, and Peter's co-worker Fouad. They also make a cameo in "Coma Guy".
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** After the Season 6 episode "P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)", Applejack's dog Winona was absent for the next two seasons. She returns in the Season 9 episode "Going for Seed".
** After the Season 7 episode "It Isn't the Mane Thing About You", Rarity's cat Opalescence was absent for the entire eighth season. She returns in the Season 9 episode "She's All Yak".
** After the Season 7 episode "It Isn't the Mane Thing About You", Rarity's cat Opalescence was absent for the entire eighth season. She returns in the Season 9 episode "She's All Yak".
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* ''WesternAnimation/DocMcStuffins'': After the Season 3 episode "The Scrapiest Dragon", Donny did not make an appearance until the third Season 5 episode "The Doc [=McStuffins=] Christmas Special". He was mentioned in the Season 4 episode "Hoarse Hallie".
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None of these are examples of The Bus Came Back.
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* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
** In the early Season 3 episode "Hit the Diamond", the Crystal Gems convince a group of Rubies sent to find Jasper that she's on Neptune, and they go there without question. They only realize they've been tricked several episodes later when they show up at the end of "Earthlings" near the end of the season.
** [[spoiler: After leaving the Crystal Gems in "Raising the Barn", Lapis returns to Earth during the battle against Blue and Yellow Diamond, in which she assists until she is poofed along with Peridot.]]
** At the end of her debut episode, [[spoiler: Bismuth is poofed and bubbled by Steven and remains bubbled until the end of season 5 when he makes the decision to bring her back for Garnet's wedding.]]
** In the early Season 3 episode "Hit the Diamond", the Crystal Gems convince a group of Rubies sent to find Jasper that she's on Neptune, and they go there without question. They only realize they've been tricked several episodes later when they show up at the end of "Earthlings" near the end of the season.
** [[spoiler: After leaving the Crystal Gems in "Raising the Barn", Lapis returns to Earth during the battle against Blue and Yellow Diamond, in which she assists until she is poofed along with Peridot.]]
** At the end of her debut episode, [[spoiler: Bismuth is poofed and bubbled by Steven and remains bubbled until the end of season 5 when he makes the decision to bring her back for Garnet's wedding.]]
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Minor recurring characters are not what The Bus Came Back is about
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* A number of characters on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' have shown up on what seems to be a one-episode basis, only to return unexpectedly years later: Bleeding Gums Murphy, Mona Simpson (Homer's mother), Artie Ziff, even the Grimes family. In a notable but less memorable example, Lunch Lady Doris was retired for a decade before she was recast.
** Dr. Marvin Monroe was a recurring character until he [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome seemingly vanished with no explanation]]. His death was confirmed a few seasons later when his tombstone was shown, but a few years later, he made a brief reappearance claiming he "was very sick", only to not make any further appearances again. A recent Treehouse of Horror episode referenced Monroe's ambiguous status by having him appear "in limbo", where he appears in a ghostly state but can only ''partly'' pass through walls.
** Dr. Marvin Monroe was a recurring character until he [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome seemingly vanished with no explanation]]. His death was confirmed a few seasons later when his tombstone was shown, but a few years later, he made a brief reappearance claiming he "was very sick", only to not make any further appearances again. A recent Treehouse of Horror episode referenced Monroe's ambiguous status by having him appear "in limbo", where he appears in a ghostly state but can only ''partly'' pass through walls.
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* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' franchise: In the second season finale of ''Series/TheLegendOfKorra'', we learn of the ultimate fate of [[spoiler:Zhao, from season 1 of ''Series/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. It turns out he's been trapped in the Fog of Lost Souls for seventy years with little else to do but ramble aimlessly about his desire to kill the moon]].
to:
* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' franchise: In the second season finale of ''Series/TheLegendOfKorra'', ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', we learn of the ultimate fate of [[spoiler:Zhao, from season 1 of ''Series/AvatarTheLastAirbender''.''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. It turns out he's been trapped in the Fog of Lost Souls for seventy years with little else to do but ramble aimlessly about his desire to kill the moon]].
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The Bus Came Back means a MAJOR character is WRITTEN OUT of the series before returning once
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* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' franchise:
** ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' had plenty of characters who initially showed up in only one episode return later. Jet and the Freedom Fighters appeared in season one before returning for and arc in season two. Suki did the same, before taking another bus trip before properly joining the Gaang in season three. The Mechanist wasn't named until he came back in "The Day of Black Sun," in a GondorCallsForAid situation.
** In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', TheOwlKnowingOne Wan Shi Tong appeared in one episode, "The Library," which ended with him pulling his library back into the spirit world so its knowledge couldn't be used by humans. In the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Aang's granddaughter Jinora meets him while trapped in in the spirit world.
** In the second season finale, we learn of the ultimate fate of [[spoiler:Zhao. It turns out he's been trapped in the Fog of Lost Souls for seventy years with little else to do but ramble aimlessly about his desire to kill the moon]].
** In the first season of ''Korra'', the [[AgentPeacock flamboyant]] pro-bending {{heel}} Tahno was set up to be a minor villain. However, at the climax of the pro-bending arc, [[BigBad Amon]] showed up, [[TheWorfEffect kicked his ass]], and took away his bending. The next time Tahno is seen, later in the season, he's a [[BreakTheHaughty husk of his former self.]] Although Korra eventually learns how to return peoples' bending, he isn't mentioned or seen again (outside of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo) until the series finale, where it's revealed that [[spoiler:he's actually a pretty good trombone player, headlining the band playing at Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding.]]
** ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' had plenty of characters who initially showed up in only one episode return later. Jet and the Freedom Fighters appeared in season one before returning for and arc in season two. Suki did the same, before taking another bus trip before properly joining the Gaang in season three. The Mechanist wasn't named until he came back in "The Day of Black Sun," in a GondorCallsForAid situation.
** In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', TheOwlKnowingOne Wan Shi Tong appeared in one episode, "The Library," which ended with him pulling his library back into the spirit world so its knowledge couldn't be used by humans. In the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Aang's granddaughter Jinora meets him while trapped in in the spirit world.
** In the second season finale, we learn of the ultimate fate of [[spoiler:Zhao. It turns out he's been trapped in the Fog of Lost Souls for seventy years with little else to do but ramble aimlessly about his desire to kill the moon]].
** In the first season of ''Korra'', the [[AgentPeacock flamboyant]] pro-bending {{heel}} Tahno was set up to be a minor villain. However, at the climax of the pro-bending arc, [[BigBad Amon]] showed up, [[TheWorfEffect kicked his ass]], and took away his bending. The next time Tahno is seen, later in the season, he's a [[BreakTheHaughty husk of his former self.]] Although Korra eventually learns how to return peoples' bending, he isn't mentioned or seen again (outside of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo) until the series finale, where it's revealed that [[spoiler:he's actually a pretty good trombone player, headlining the band playing at Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding.]]
to:
* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' franchise:
** ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' had plenty of characters who initially showed up in only one episode return later. Jet and the Freedom Fighters appeared in season one before returning for and arc in season two. Suki did the same, before taking another bus trip before properly joining the Gaang in season three. The Mechanist wasn't named until he came back in "The Day of Black Sun," in a GondorCallsForAid situation.
** In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', TheOwlKnowingOne Wan Shi Tong appeared in one episode, "The Library," which ended with him pulling his library back into the spirit world so its knowledge couldn't be used by humans. In the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Aang's granddaughter Jinora meets him while trapped in in the spirit world.
**franchise: In the second season finale, finale of ''Series/TheLegendOfKorra'', we learn of the ultimate fate of [[spoiler:Zhao. [[spoiler:Zhao, from season 1 of ''Series/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. It turns out he's been trapped in the Fog of Lost Souls for seventy years with little else to do but ramble aimlessly about his desire to kill the moon]].
** In the first season of ''Korra'', the [[AgentPeacock flamboyant]] pro-bending {{heel}} Tahno was set up to be a minor villain. However, at the climax of the pro-bending arc, [[BigBad Amon]] showed up, [[TheWorfEffect kicked his ass]], and took away his bending. The next time Tahno is seen, later in the season, he's a [[BreakTheHaughty husk of his former self.]] Although Korra eventually learns how to return peoples' bending, he isn't mentioned or seen again (outside of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo) until the series finale, where it's revealed that [[spoiler:he's actually a pretty good trombone player, headlining the band playing at Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding.]]moon]].
** ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' had plenty of characters who initially showed up in only one episode return later. Jet and the Freedom Fighters appeared in season one before returning for and arc in season two. Suki did the same, before taking another bus trip before properly joining the Gaang in season three. The Mechanist wasn't named until he came back in "The Day of Black Sun," in a GondorCallsForAid situation.
** In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', TheOwlKnowingOne Wan Shi Tong appeared in one episode, "The Library," which ended with him pulling his library back into the spirit world so its knowledge couldn't be used by humans. In the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Aang's granddaughter Jinora meets him while trapped in in the spirit world.
**
** In the first season of ''Korra'', the [[AgentPeacock flamboyant]] pro-bending {{heel}} Tahno was set up to be a minor villain. However, at the climax of the pro-bending arc, [[BigBad Amon]] showed up, [[TheWorfEffect kicked his ass]], and took away his bending. The next time Tahno is seen, later in the season, he's a [[BreakTheHaughty husk of his former self.]] Although Korra eventually learns how to return peoples' bending, he isn't mentioned or seen again (outside of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo) until the series finale, where it's revealed that [[spoiler:he's actually a pretty good trombone player, headlining the band playing at Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding.]]
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** Rob, an incredibly minor character who is seen in the background of a few Season One and Season Two characters, seemingly disappeared after the end of Season Two. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Rob can be seen in the background in the episode "The Void"... and then he comes back. And he's [[BodyHorror incredibly disfigured.]] And the results of his return [[CreateYourOwnVillain aren't exactly]] [[BigBad the most favorable.]]]]
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** Rob, an incredibly minor character who is seen in the background of a few Season One and Season Two characters, episodes, seemingly disappeared after the end of Season Two. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Rob can be seen in the background in the episode "The Void"... and then he comes back. And he's [[BodyHorror incredibly disfigured.]] And the results of his return [[CreateYourOwnVillain aren't exactly]] [[BigBad the most favorable.]]]]
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Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
** Rob, an incredibly minor character who is seen in the background of a few Season One and Season Two characters, seemingly disappeared after the end of Season Two. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Rob can be seen in the background in the episode "The Void"... and then he comes back. And he's [[BodyHorror incredibly disfigured.]] The results of his return [[CreateYourOwnVillain aren't]] [[BigBad the most favorable.]]
to:
** Rob, an incredibly minor character who is seen in the background of a few Season One and Season Two characters, seemingly disappeared after the end of Season Two. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Rob can be seen in the background in the episode "The Void"... and then he comes back. And he's [[BodyHorror incredibly disfigured.]] The And the results of his return [[CreateYourOwnVillain aren't]] aren't exactly]] [[BigBad the most favorable.]]]]]]
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* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball''
** Rob, an incredibly minor character who is seen in the background of a few Season One and Season Two characters, seemingly disappeared after the end of Season Two. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Rob can be seen in the background in the episode "The Void"... and then he comes back. And he's [[BodyHorror incredibly disfigured.]] The results of his return [[CreateYourOwnVillain aren't]] [[BigBad the most favorable.]]
** Rob, an incredibly minor character who is seen in the background of a few Season One and Season Two characters, seemingly disappeared after the end of Season Two. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Rob can be seen in the background in the episode "The Void"... and then he comes back. And he's [[BodyHorror incredibly disfigured.]] The results of his return [[CreateYourOwnVillain aren't]] [[BigBad the most favorable.]]
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* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''
** After not being seen since his first appearance in "What Is Life?", NEPTR suddenly reappears in "Hot to the Touch"; apparently his three-season absence was the result of a game of HideAndNoSeek.
--->'''NEPTR:''' I am the ultimate hide-and-seek champion! 15 months, 4 days, and 9 hours, and you guys could not find me. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!\\
'''Jake:''' Oh, plops! We forgot about the game!
** In "Furniture & Meat", we find the Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant from "The Limit" is shown to be living in Finn and Jake's house under one of their many piles of treasure.
--->'''Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant:''' I will continue to chill here until you command me!
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':
** The female terrorist Red Claw appeared as a relatively minor villain in "The Cat and the Claw" (which was actually about Catwoman) and then vanished - only to return a couple of years later as the BigBad in "The Lion and the Unicorn".
** Boxy Bennett, the crooked owner of a Gotham City nightclub, made a brief appearance in "Harlequinade" and then returned later for "Harley's Holiday". There's even a ContinuityNod to "Harlequinade" in the latter episode, with Boxy grumpily reminding Harley that his place got trashed the last time she visited him.
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': While most of the villains from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' not named ComicBook/TheJoker or ComicBook/LexLuthor didn't show up at all during Season 1 of the show, in Season 2, they started being used again: Volcana, Luminous and Firefly cameoed during a prison break in "Only a Dream," while in "Secret Society", Clayface, the Parasite, and Sinestro were all part of Gorilla Grodd's titular team.
* In 1994, many of the Franchise/CareBears cousins were PutOnTheBus, and those that weren't were ''converted into bears'', an ill-accepted move among fans. Playalong did try to bring back the cousins between 2003 to 2005, but the attempt was stymied by poor marketing and was ultimately aborted to revamp the franchise for ''Welcome to Care-A-Lot''. Four of the cousins were finally taken off the bus with 2015's ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsAndCousins''.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
** "The Splendid Source" has Peter and co. encountering their old buddy Cleveland in his [[WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow new hometown]] during a road trip.
** Similarly, Kevin, son of Joe and Bonnie Swanson, was largely retired after the series' third season and un-cancellation, and a later episode off-handedly suggests he died in Iraq, but he came back in the season 10 episode "Thanksgiving" he is revealed to have actually been AWOL and returns to the recurring cast.
** The vaudeville duo Vern and Johnny were shot to death by Stewie in "Saving Private Bryan", who insisted they would not be seen again. They made a reappearance in "Back to the Woods" with Vern as a ghost and Johnny in Hell (because according to Vern, "Johnny liked little boys"). They are also seen briefly in the opening to "A Lot Going On Upstairs", alongside other characters the series had PutOnABus previously, such as salesman Jim Kaplan, police officer Obie, strongmen Phineas & Barnbaby, RJ, and Peter's co-worker Fouad.
* The ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' SpinOff ''WesternAnimation/GadgetAndTheGadgetinis'' had this with the characters of Brain and Chief Quimby. Quimby was about the same, except Gadget is now working for a different agency, while a shell-shocked Brain has retired to a riverfront house.
* In the last season of ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'', the prominent supporting characters from the first season came back and the newer additions like Carl and Pops stayed as well.
* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' franchise:
** ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' had plenty of characters who initially showed up in only one episode return later. Jet and the Freedom Fighters appeared in season one before returning for and arc in season two. Suki did the same, before taking another bus trip before properly joining the Gaang in season three. The Mechanist wasn't named until he came back in "The Day of Black Sun," in a GondorCallsForAid situation.
** In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', TheOwlKnowingOne Wan Shi Tong appeared in one episode, "The Library," which ended with him pulling his library back into the spirit world so its knowledge couldn't be used by humans. In the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Aang's granddaughter Jinora meets him while trapped in in the spirit world.
** In the second season finale, we learn of the ultimate fate of [[spoiler:Zhao. It turns out he's been trapped in the Fog of Lost Souls for seventy years with little else to do but ramble aimlessly about his desire to kill the moon]].
** In the first season of ''Korra'', the [[AgentPeacock flamboyant]] pro-bending {{heel}} Tahno was set up to be a minor villain. However, at the climax of the pro-bending arc, [[BigBad Amon]] showed up, [[TheWorfEffect kicked his ass]], and took away his bending. The next time Tahno is seen, later in the season, he's a [[BreakTheHaughty husk of his former self.]] Although Korra eventually learns how to return peoples' bending, he isn't mentioned or seen again (outside of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo) until the series finale, where it's revealed that [[spoiler:he's actually a pretty good trombone player, headlining the band playing at Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'': Shapey was put on a moving van when the Puppingtons and their brief neighbors the Posabules accidentally switched them with their own son. Realizing (about ten episodes later) that Shapey has been switched, Bloberta goes to their new residence to pick him up but ''doesn't'' take back Block.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** One-shot antagonist Trixie returned after two seasons for a rematch, and ''again'' another three seasons later. Since then she became a semi-recurring character. Having a fan following rivaling that of some main characters helped.
** Gilda the Griffin was a one-shot antagonist from the first season, merely showing up to teach Rainbow Dash [[LongLostUncleAesop a moral]]. However, after four seasons, she once again appeared in an episode where Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie travelled to her hometown.
** After the major backlash regarding [[FanNickname Derpy]] in the Season 2 episode "The Last Roundup" and hasty OrwellianRetcon, it was assumed she wouldn't appear again in the show. Despite that, she returns in the finale of Season 3, though given she hasn't been seen in any promotional material for either that season or for Season 4 many saw it as simply a final farewell. [[spoiler:And then she shows up again in "Rainbow Falls" as Rainbow Dash's replacement. Her continued cameos since make it apparent that they wouldn't just eliminate such a fan favorite from the show, and she even got a speaking role in the [[MilestoneCelebration one hundreth episode]] "Slice of Life".]]
** In the Season 5 episode "Tanks for the Memories", Rainbow Dash's tortoise Tank was given a send-off by going into hibernation. He does appear a few episodes later in "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?"
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'', many, many of the characters that were [[PutOnABus shipped off to Hoboken]] came back, complete with evil clones.
** Dr. Blowhole came back in a one-hour special.
** Alex the Lion, from the original movie, makes a cameo in one episode as a SpiritAdvisor to Skipper.
* A number of characters on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' have shown up on what seems to be a one-episode basis, only to return unexpectedly years later: Bleeding Gums Murphy, Mona Simpson (Homer's mother), Artie Ziff, even the Grimes family. In a notable but less memorable example, Lunch Lady Doris was retired for a decade before she was recast.
** Dr. Marvin Monroe was a recurring character until he [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome seemingly vanished with no explanation]]. His death was confirmed a few seasons later when his tombstone was shown, but a few years later, he made a brief reappearance claiming he "was very sick", only to not make any further appearances again. A recent Treehouse of Horror episode referenced Monroe's ambiguous status by having him appear "in limbo", where he appears in a ghostly state but can only ''partly'' pass through walls.
* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': fan-favourite character [[EvilTwin Evil Morty]] first showed up in "[[Recap/RickAndMortyS1E10CloseRickCountersOfTheRickKind Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind]]" along with Evil Rick, who turned out to be [[spoiler:a non-sapient cyborg under his Morty's control.]] Three years and two seasons later, "[[Recap/RickAndMortyS3E7TheRicklantisMixup The Ricklantis Mixup]]" ends with [[spoiler:the new President of the Citadel getting revealed as Evil Morty, who then proceeds to [[BoardToDeath kill his treacherous subordinates]] and establish a dictatorship.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E14LegacyOfMandalore "Legacy of Mandalore"]], [[spoiler:Sabine chooses to stay with her family and help build the Mandalorian Resistance]]. In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E19ZeroHour "Zero]] [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E20ZeroHourPartII Hour"]], [[spoiler:she returns when Ezra comes to her and Clan Wren in search of reinforcements to help the besieged rebels on Atollon. However, she can't return permanently, having to return to the ongoing Mandalorian civil war.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
** In the early Season 3 episode "Hit the Diamond", the Crystal Gems convince a group of Rubies sent to find Jasper that she's on Neptune, and they go there without question. They only realize they've been tricked several episodes later when they show up at the end of "Earthlings" near the end of the season.
** [[spoiler: After leaving the Crystal Gems in "Raising the Barn", Lapis returns to Earth during the battle against Blue and Yellow Diamond, in which she assists until she is poofed along with Peridot.]]
** At the end of her debut episode, [[spoiler: Bismuth is poofed and bubbled by Steven and remains bubbled until the end of season 5 when he makes the decision to bring her back for Garnet's wedding.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'': [[spoiler: At the beginning of season four, Keith is PutOnTheBus when he leaves the team, and from that point on [[CommutingOnABus only pops up occasionally]]. Season six gave him much more focus, and he ended up permanently returning to the team with his [[ItMakesSenseInContext Galra mom, an Altean girl, and a space dog]] in tow.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'': Mordecai's first love interest, Margaret, leaves for college at the end of season four, just as he's about to formally ask her to be his girlfriend. She returns partway through season six, which causes complications with his current girlfriend CJ, as he still holds an interest in Margaret and she's prone to jealously. By season eight, both Margaret and CJ are effectively written out of the show once more, as Mordecai's indecision regarding his love life pushes them away.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'': After being written out of the show at the end of the eighth season, Shredder and Krang returned in the final season for a 3-part arc.
* Thanks to the valiant efforts of a brand-new writing team, several characters returned in the Seventeenth Season of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends''. These characters were Duck, Bill & Ben, and Harvey. The special that came before Season 17, ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheRailway'', brought back Jack the Front Loader from the aborted spin-off "Jack and the Pack". The following special, ''WesternAnimation/TaleOfTheBrave'', saw the return of Oliver the Great Western Engine, and Season 18 brought back his brakevan Toad, as well as Duncan. The special after that, ''WesternAnimation/SodorsLegendOfTheLostTreasure'', brought back Alfie, Trevor, Oliver the Excavator, Max, Monty, Donald, Douglas, and Daisy. the season 20 movie Journey Beyond Sodor brought back Rosie as well.
** Season 21 would bring back Bulgy (perhaps a literal example of this trope) and Terence. Season 23 brought back the foreman of the Sodor Construction Company, Miss Jenny, who hadn't been seen since Season 12.
* When Creator/{{Toonami}} returned, it was hosted by TOM 3.5, with no sign of TOM 4. However, sometime later, TOM 4 did come back briefly to talk to TOM 3.5/5. [[spoiler: Sadly, he after suffered a BusCrash in ''WesternAnimation/TheIntruderII'', when WesternAnimation/TheIntruder gloats about killing TOM 4.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', Baron Underbheit disappears after being deposed from Underland, and this was meant to be his last appearance. Two and a half seasons later, and he appears as a homeless person before joining the Revenge Society.
* Morph in the ''90's {{WesternAnimation/XMen}}''. He was effectively written out after the season 2 finale, returns in a season 4 cameo (compete with [[TookALevelInBadass increased badassness]]) only to disappear again until the final episode.
* Spyke/Evan of ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' was a member of the main cast until a poison made him mutate out of control, leading him to leave the X-Men and join the more seclusive mutant group known as the Morlocks. Spyke is gone for the rest of that season, and has two more appearances in the final season, one where he's the main focus and the other where he's merely part of the ensemble to help save the world from the show's final villain, Apocalypse.
* Season 11 of ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' has "Spot Returns", Plankton's amoeba puppy who hasn't shown up since the season 9 episode "Plankton's Pet". The thing is he never seemed to have left, just been forgotten about.
** On the topic of season 9, Bubble Bass made his great comeback from that point onwards, several years after only previously showing up in a pair of season 1 episodes.
* Recurring characters in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' are often used very infrequently, sometimes with several years between major appearances on the show.
** Mr. Hat, a puppet and alter-ego for Mr. Garrison, was a major character in early seasons and seemed inseparable from Garrison and was implied to be sentient. After he came out of the closet, Mr. Hat's usage declined until he was casually written out in "The Death Camp of Tolerance".
** Previously phased-out or retired characters such as Mr. Hat, the Super Best Friends, Big Gay Al, Mr. Slave, Pip Pirrup, Dr. Alphonse Mephesto, his assistant Kevin, and others, were all brought back for the series' 200th and 201st episodes for CallBack reasons, but none of them have returned to the regular cast since. Most of them also appear in the video games.
** Stan's grandfather Marvin, who lived with the series' central family for the first eleven seasons, had few speaking roles and disappeared from their home by early Season 13, becoming especially noticeable when the core four family members move out in "You're Getting Old". He was re-introduced in "Cash For Gold", five years later, living in an assisted living facility, but still occasionally appears at dinner with the family.
** Tweek, a longtime fan favorite who was briefly a main character, had a nearly seven-year absence from the show. He spoke on only one occasion between Season 10 and Season 17, and was removed as a regular from the main characters' classroom. He received multiple small speaking parts in Season 17, and the Season 19 episode "Tweek x Craig" seemed to re-establish him as a member of the series' cast, and he has remained prominent again since. However, his classroom absence has not been addressed.
** One of the most notable examples may be Ugly Bob, introduced in the second season in a show within a show, but he reappeared fifteen years later in "Royal Pudding", on an actual bus, claiming to have moved to the United States due to his hideous disfigurement.
** Although he was never PutOnABus, the owner of Tom's Rhinoplasty, Dr. Tom, makes no speaking appearances in the twenty years between "Tom's Rhinoplasty" (in season 1) and "Members Only" (in season 20) though he made infrequent cameos.
** Season 22 is shaping up to be an epic example of this, since important roles are given to infrequently-seen characters such as Towelie, Mr. Hankey (who however is booted out of town seemingly permanently), Grandpa Marsh, Satan and the Manbearpig. Even Ned Gerblansky makes an appearance!
* Halfway into ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'', Kanga and Roo seemed to disappear from Disney's ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' works. However they made a return in the ''Seasons of Giving'' special almost a decade later, and following ''WesternAnimation/TheTiggerMovie'' were promoted to even bigger roles than they had before. ''Series/TheBookOfPooh'' also coincided with this, introducing them as regulars in Season Two.
** After not being seen since his first appearance in "What Is Life?", NEPTR suddenly reappears in "Hot to the Touch"; apparently his three-season absence was the result of a game of HideAndNoSeek.
--->'''NEPTR:''' I am the ultimate hide-and-seek champion! 15 months, 4 days, and 9 hours, and you guys could not find me. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!\\
'''Jake:''' Oh, plops! We forgot about the game!
** In "Furniture & Meat", we find the Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant from "The Limit" is shown to be living in Finn and Jake's house under one of their many piles of treasure.
--->'''Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant:''' I will continue to chill here until you command me!
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':
** The female terrorist Red Claw appeared as a relatively minor villain in "The Cat and the Claw" (which was actually about Catwoman) and then vanished - only to return a couple of years later as the BigBad in "The Lion and the Unicorn".
** Boxy Bennett, the crooked owner of a Gotham City nightclub, made a brief appearance in "Harlequinade" and then returned later for "Harley's Holiday". There's even a ContinuityNod to "Harlequinade" in the latter episode, with Boxy grumpily reminding Harley that his place got trashed the last time she visited him.
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': While most of the villains from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' not named ComicBook/TheJoker or ComicBook/LexLuthor didn't show up at all during Season 1 of the show, in Season 2, they started being used again: Volcana, Luminous and Firefly cameoed during a prison break in "Only a Dream," while in "Secret Society", Clayface, the Parasite, and Sinestro were all part of Gorilla Grodd's titular team.
* In 1994, many of the Franchise/CareBears cousins were PutOnTheBus, and those that weren't were ''converted into bears'', an ill-accepted move among fans. Playalong did try to bring back the cousins between 2003 to 2005, but the attempt was stymied by poor marketing and was ultimately aborted to revamp the franchise for ''Welcome to Care-A-Lot''. Four of the cousins were finally taken off the bus with 2015's ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsAndCousins''.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
** "The Splendid Source" has Peter and co. encountering their old buddy Cleveland in his [[WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow new hometown]] during a road trip.
** Similarly, Kevin, son of Joe and Bonnie Swanson, was largely retired after the series' third season and un-cancellation, and a later episode off-handedly suggests he died in Iraq, but he came back in the season 10 episode "Thanksgiving" he is revealed to have actually been AWOL and returns to the recurring cast.
** The vaudeville duo Vern and Johnny were shot to death by Stewie in "Saving Private Bryan", who insisted they would not be seen again. They made a reappearance in "Back to the Woods" with Vern as a ghost and Johnny in Hell (because according to Vern, "Johnny liked little boys"). They are also seen briefly in the opening to "A Lot Going On Upstairs", alongside other characters the series had PutOnABus previously, such as salesman Jim Kaplan, police officer Obie, strongmen Phineas & Barnbaby, RJ, and Peter's co-worker Fouad.
* The ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' SpinOff ''WesternAnimation/GadgetAndTheGadgetinis'' had this with the characters of Brain and Chief Quimby. Quimby was about the same, except Gadget is now working for a different agency, while a shell-shocked Brain has retired to a riverfront house.
* In the last season of ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'', the prominent supporting characters from the first season came back and the newer additions like Carl and Pops stayed as well.
* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' franchise:
** ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' had plenty of characters who initially showed up in only one episode return later. Jet and the Freedom Fighters appeared in season one before returning for and arc in season two. Suki did the same, before taking another bus trip before properly joining the Gaang in season three. The Mechanist wasn't named until he came back in "The Day of Black Sun," in a GondorCallsForAid situation.
** In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', TheOwlKnowingOne Wan Shi Tong appeared in one episode, "The Library," which ended with him pulling his library back into the spirit world so its knowledge couldn't be used by humans. In the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Aang's granddaughter Jinora meets him while trapped in in the spirit world.
** In the second season finale, we learn of the ultimate fate of [[spoiler:Zhao. It turns out he's been trapped in the Fog of Lost Souls for seventy years with little else to do but ramble aimlessly about his desire to kill the moon]].
** In the first season of ''Korra'', the [[AgentPeacock flamboyant]] pro-bending {{heel}} Tahno was set up to be a minor villain. However, at the climax of the pro-bending arc, [[BigBad Amon]] showed up, [[TheWorfEffect kicked his ass]], and took away his bending. The next time Tahno is seen, later in the season, he's a [[BreakTheHaughty husk of his former self.]] Although Korra eventually learns how to return peoples' bending, he isn't mentioned or seen again (outside of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo) until the series finale, where it's revealed that [[spoiler:he's actually a pretty good trombone player, headlining the band playing at Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'': Shapey was put on a moving van when the Puppingtons and their brief neighbors the Posabules accidentally switched them with their own son. Realizing (about ten episodes later) that Shapey has been switched, Bloberta goes to their new residence to pick him up but ''doesn't'' take back Block.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** One-shot antagonist Trixie returned after two seasons for a rematch, and ''again'' another three seasons later. Since then she became a semi-recurring character. Having a fan following rivaling that of some main characters helped.
** Gilda the Griffin was a one-shot antagonist from the first season, merely showing up to teach Rainbow Dash [[LongLostUncleAesop a moral]]. However, after four seasons, she once again appeared in an episode where Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie travelled to her hometown.
** After the major backlash regarding [[FanNickname Derpy]] in the Season 2 episode "The Last Roundup" and hasty OrwellianRetcon, it was assumed she wouldn't appear again in the show. Despite that, she returns in the finale of Season 3, though given she hasn't been seen in any promotional material for either that season or for Season 4 many saw it as simply a final farewell. [[spoiler:And then she shows up again in "Rainbow Falls" as Rainbow Dash's replacement. Her continued cameos since make it apparent that they wouldn't just eliminate such a fan favorite from the show, and she even got a speaking role in the [[MilestoneCelebration one hundreth episode]] "Slice of Life".]]
** In the Season 5 episode "Tanks for the Memories", Rainbow Dash's tortoise Tank was given a send-off by going into hibernation. He does appear a few episodes later in "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?"
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'', many, many of the characters that were [[PutOnABus shipped off to Hoboken]] came back, complete with evil clones.
** Dr. Blowhole came back in a one-hour special.
** Alex the Lion, from the original movie, makes a cameo in one episode as a SpiritAdvisor to Skipper.
* A number of characters on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' have shown up on what seems to be a one-episode basis, only to return unexpectedly years later: Bleeding Gums Murphy, Mona Simpson (Homer's mother), Artie Ziff, even the Grimes family. In a notable but less memorable example, Lunch Lady Doris was retired for a decade before she was recast.
** Dr. Marvin Monroe was a recurring character until he [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome seemingly vanished with no explanation]]. His death was confirmed a few seasons later when his tombstone was shown, but a few years later, he made a brief reappearance claiming he "was very sick", only to not make any further appearances again. A recent Treehouse of Horror episode referenced Monroe's ambiguous status by having him appear "in limbo", where he appears in a ghostly state but can only ''partly'' pass through walls.
* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': fan-favourite character [[EvilTwin Evil Morty]] first showed up in "[[Recap/RickAndMortyS1E10CloseRickCountersOfTheRickKind Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind]]" along with Evil Rick, who turned out to be [[spoiler:a non-sapient cyborg under his Morty's control.]] Three years and two seasons later, "[[Recap/RickAndMortyS3E7TheRicklantisMixup The Ricklantis Mixup]]" ends with [[spoiler:the new President of the Citadel getting revealed as Evil Morty, who then proceeds to [[BoardToDeath kill his treacherous subordinates]] and establish a dictatorship.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E14LegacyOfMandalore "Legacy of Mandalore"]], [[spoiler:Sabine chooses to stay with her family and help build the Mandalorian Resistance]]. In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E19ZeroHour "Zero]] [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E20ZeroHourPartII Hour"]], [[spoiler:she returns when Ezra comes to her and Clan Wren in search of reinforcements to help the besieged rebels on Atollon. However, she can't return permanently, having to return to the ongoing Mandalorian civil war.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
** In the early Season 3 episode "Hit the Diamond", the Crystal Gems convince a group of Rubies sent to find Jasper that she's on Neptune, and they go there without question. They only realize they've been tricked several episodes later when they show up at the end of "Earthlings" near the end of the season.
** [[spoiler: After leaving the Crystal Gems in "Raising the Barn", Lapis returns to Earth during the battle against Blue and Yellow Diamond, in which she assists until she is poofed along with Peridot.]]
** At the end of her debut episode, [[spoiler: Bismuth is poofed and bubbled by Steven and remains bubbled until the end of season 5 when he makes the decision to bring her back for Garnet's wedding.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'': [[spoiler: At the beginning of season four, Keith is PutOnTheBus when he leaves the team, and from that point on [[CommutingOnABus only pops up occasionally]]. Season six gave him much more focus, and he ended up permanently returning to the team with his [[ItMakesSenseInContext Galra mom, an Altean girl, and a space dog]] in tow.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'': Mordecai's first love interest, Margaret, leaves for college at the end of season four, just as he's about to formally ask her to be his girlfriend. She returns partway through season six, which causes complications with his current girlfriend CJ, as he still holds an interest in Margaret and she's prone to jealously. By season eight, both Margaret and CJ are effectively written out of the show once more, as Mordecai's indecision regarding his love life pushes them away.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'': After being written out of the show at the end of the eighth season, Shredder and Krang returned in the final season for a 3-part arc.
* Thanks to the valiant efforts of a brand-new writing team, several characters returned in the Seventeenth Season of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends''. These characters were Duck, Bill & Ben, and Harvey. The special that came before Season 17, ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheRailway'', brought back Jack the Front Loader from the aborted spin-off "Jack and the Pack". The following special, ''WesternAnimation/TaleOfTheBrave'', saw the return of Oliver the Great Western Engine, and Season 18 brought back his brakevan Toad, as well as Duncan. The special after that, ''WesternAnimation/SodorsLegendOfTheLostTreasure'', brought back Alfie, Trevor, Oliver the Excavator, Max, Monty, Donald, Douglas, and Daisy. the season 20 movie Journey Beyond Sodor brought back Rosie as well.
** Season 21 would bring back Bulgy (perhaps a literal example of this trope) and Terence. Season 23 brought back the foreman of the Sodor Construction Company, Miss Jenny, who hadn't been seen since Season 12.
* When Creator/{{Toonami}} returned, it was hosted by TOM 3.5, with no sign of TOM 4. However, sometime later, TOM 4 did come back briefly to talk to TOM 3.5/5. [[spoiler: Sadly, he after suffered a BusCrash in ''WesternAnimation/TheIntruderII'', when WesternAnimation/TheIntruder gloats about killing TOM 4.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', Baron Underbheit disappears after being deposed from Underland, and this was meant to be his last appearance. Two and a half seasons later, and he appears as a homeless person before joining the Revenge Society.
* Morph in the ''90's {{WesternAnimation/XMen}}''. He was effectively written out after the season 2 finale, returns in a season 4 cameo (compete with [[TookALevelInBadass increased badassness]]) only to disappear again until the final episode.
* Spyke/Evan of ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' was a member of the main cast until a poison made him mutate out of control, leading him to leave the X-Men and join the more seclusive mutant group known as the Morlocks. Spyke is gone for the rest of that season, and has two more appearances in the final season, one where he's the main focus and the other where he's merely part of the ensemble to help save the world from the show's final villain, Apocalypse.
* Season 11 of ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' has "Spot Returns", Plankton's amoeba puppy who hasn't shown up since the season 9 episode "Plankton's Pet". The thing is he never seemed to have left, just been forgotten about.
** On the topic of season 9, Bubble Bass made his great comeback from that point onwards, several years after only previously showing up in a pair of season 1 episodes.
* Recurring characters in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' are often used very infrequently, sometimes with several years between major appearances on the show.
** Mr. Hat, a puppet and alter-ego for Mr. Garrison, was a major character in early seasons and seemed inseparable from Garrison and was implied to be sentient. After he came out of the closet, Mr. Hat's usage declined until he was casually written out in "The Death Camp of Tolerance".
** Previously phased-out or retired characters such as Mr. Hat, the Super Best Friends, Big Gay Al, Mr. Slave, Pip Pirrup, Dr. Alphonse Mephesto, his assistant Kevin, and others, were all brought back for the series' 200th and 201st episodes for CallBack reasons, but none of them have returned to the regular cast since. Most of them also appear in the video games.
** Stan's grandfather Marvin, who lived with the series' central family for the first eleven seasons, had few speaking roles and disappeared from their home by early Season 13, becoming especially noticeable when the core four family members move out in "You're Getting Old". He was re-introduced in "Cash For Gold", five years later, living in an assisted living facility, but still occasionally appears at dinner with the family.
** Tweek, a longtime fan favorite who was briefly a main character, had a nearly seven-year absence from the show. He spoke on only one occasion between Season 10 and Season 17, and was removed as a regular from the main characters' classroom. He received multiple small speaking parts in Season 17, and the Season 19 episode "Tweek x Craig" seemed to re-establish him as a member of the series' cast, and he has remained prominent again since. However, his classroom absence has not been addressed.
** One of the most notable examples may be Ugly Bob, introduced in the second season in a show within a show, but he reappeared fifteen years later in "Royal Pudding", on an actual bus, claiming to have moved to the United States due to his hideous disfigurement.
** Although he was never PutOnABus, the owner of Tom's Rhinoplasty, Dr. Tom, makes no speaking appearances in the twenty years between "Tom's Rhinoplasty" (in season 1) and "Members Only" (in season 20) though he made infrequent cameos.
** Season 22 is shaping up to be an epic example of this, since important roles are given to infrequently-seen characters such as Towelie, Mr. Hankey (who however is booted out of town seemingly permanently), Grandpa Marsh, Satan and the Manbearpig. Even Ned Gerblansky makes an appearance!
* Halfway into ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'', Kanga and Roo seemed to disappear from Disney's ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' works. However they made a return in the ''Seasons of Giving'' special almost a decade later, and following ''WesternAnimation/TheTiggerMovie'' were promoted to even bigger roles than they had before. ''Series/TheBookOfPooh'' also coincided with this, introducing them as regulars in Season Two.
