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| 4 | %% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks! |
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| 8 | [[quoteright:250:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chair_swivel_3331.jpg]]]] |
| 9 | [[caption-width-right:250:*dramatic music*]] |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ->'''The Monarch:''' He didn't go for it. I even did that cool spin thing.\ |
| 12 | '''Doctor Girlfriend:''' It's a bit of a cliché. |
| 13 | -->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'', "[[Recap/TheVentureBrosS3E10TheLepidopterists The Lepidopterists]]" |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Someone is sitting in a spinning chair, facing away from a character who's trying to talk to them. [[SwivelChairAntics The chair swivels around]], revealing [[MistakenFromBehind a different person than who they expected]], or even [[PeekABooCorpse a dead body]]. Or, two people are talking in front of a presumably empty chair. Cue a dramatic swivel to reveal that the chair wasn't so empty after all. Can happen when TrespassingToTalk. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Quite often, the [[CoolChair chair will be cool]], and the [[SlouchOfVillainy posture will be villainous]]. Subtrope of TheReveal and PlotTwist. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | A variation of the "Chair Reveal" is the "Chair Entrance", when the visual device of a slowly-revolving chair is employed simply to make an actor's first appearance more dramatic. This is not a straightforward Chair Reveal because it's used solely to introduce the actor, not to produce a surprise or a plot twist. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | ---- |
| 22 | !!"Chair Reveal" examples: |
| 23 | |
| 24 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 27 | * In ''Anime/{{Canaan}}'' Hakko [[spoiler:who can hurt and kill just by speaking]] talks all way to chair, thinking she is talking to [[PsychoLesbian Liang]] [[{{Yandere}} Qi]], only to see a completely different person tied to it... |
| 28 | * [[MagnificentBastard Lelouch Lamperouge]] indulges in a Bond-villain-esque Chair Reveal in ''Anime/CodeGeass''. It's every bit as fabulous as you might expect. |
| 29 | * Nekojara from ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaInTheWanNyanSpacetimeOdyssey'', in both the manga and anime adaptation, reveals himself to a chained-up Doraemon who's regaining consciousness in his office from his swivel chair in this manner. And gloating all the way. |
| 30 | * One baddie in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' pulls this when Section 9 breaks into his office to arrest him, and turning his chair around reveals a blow-up doll. |
| 31 | * In ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'', Customer Service of Holy Nightmare Corporation does this when he and Dedede first meet face to face [[spoiler: showing that he's just as small as any other character on the show. No legs, just feet where his upper torso ends.]] |
| 32 | * ''Anime/KnightHunters'' uses the dead body version when Ken goes to assassinate Koga Kenji only to find him already dead. |
| 33 | * ''Anime/MyHime'' also uses one with Mashiro, but it turns out [[spoiler:what's in the chair is a doll, the real Mashiro already escaped]]. |
| 34 | * In ''Manga/PetshopOfHorrors'', Leon thinks he's reporting his suspicions regarding D to the mayor... but finds D sitting in the mayor's chair. |
| 35 | * ''Anime/YesPrettyCure5'' did it with a member of the QuirkyMinibossSquad instead of the school headmaster. Justified (not that this trope is as much in need of justification as some others) in that the girls had never actually met the headmaster before, so they didn't realize she wasn't the real thing until they realized who she ''was''. |
| 36 | [[/folder]] |
| 37 | |
| 38 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 39 | * The Helmet of Fate was revealed this way in Creator/DCComics' ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', except that no turning was involved - the detectives approach the person sitting in the chair and he suddenly collapses, revealing himself to be dead. |
| 40 | * ''ComicBook/DangerGirl and the ComicBook/ArmyOfDarkness'' #4: Agent Zero shoots what he thinks is his target through the back of a chair. He then walks round to the front of the chair and instead finds a dummy rigged to a bomb with three seconds left on the timer. |
| 41 | * ''[[ComicBook/SecretWars2015 Secret Wars: 2099]]'': In the first issue, Captain America is talking with her boss, the head of Alchemax. Then his chair swivels around to reveal it's not Tyler Stone, but rather, [[ComicBook/SpiderMan2099 Miguel O'Hara]] instead. |
| 42 | [[/folder]] |
| 43 | |
| 44 | [[folder:Films — Animation]] |
| 45 | * [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}''. Having kidnapped Roxanne Ritchi, Megamind has [[NonHumanSidekick Minion]] position her in the death trap while he leaps into his [[SwivelChairAntics villainous swivel chair]] and primps for this week's round of evil gloating -- smoothing his eyebrows, coaxing a brainbot into his lap so he can [[RightHandCat stroke it when he turns around]], and adopting the SlouchOfVillainy. Of course, they apparently do this every week, so it's hardly a shocking reveal to Roxanne. |
| 46 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarshipTroopersTraitorOfMars''. Our heroes go to confront Sky Marshal Snapp over her treacherous actions. Only when the chair swivels round it's their friend Carl Jenkins sitting in her seat, Snapp having taken "leave of absence". |
| 47 | [[/folder]] |
| 48 | |
| 49 | [[folder:Films — Live-Action]] |
| 50 | * The end of ''Film/TheAdventuresOfPlutoNash'' reveals that the villain has in fact been [[spoiler:a clone of the hero]] in this fashion. |
| 51 | * Ryan O'Neal gets a pointless chair reveal in ''Film/AnAlanSmitheeFilmBurnHollywoodBurn''. It's one of the many things Creator/RogerEbert makes fun of in [[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/an-alan-smithee-film-burn-hollywood-burn-1998 his review]], along with a callback to the reveal of Frank Sinatra in Mike Todd's ''Film/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays1956''. |
| 52 | * In ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', this is how Wallace Keefe (and any audience members that didn't spot Mercy, Lex's right hand woman, as Wallace entered the building) discovers that Comicbook/LexLuthor was the one to bail him out of jail, with Lex turning around in the new electric wheelchair he's giving to Wallace. |
| 53 | * Done in ''Film/TheBeastMustDie'' with [[spoiler:Pavel's corpse]]. |
| 54 | * Lampshaded in ''Film/BlackDynamite'' as the BigBad, [[spoiler:Richard Nixon,]] reveals himself this way... in less of a dramatic fashion than intended, as it takes a few pushes of his chair in order to finish it. |
| 55 | * ''Film/DiamondsAreForever''. After Film/JamesBond enters Willard Whyte's penthouse apartment, Blofeld reveals himself by spinning his chair around. It's a particularly shocking reveal as we saw Blofeld get killed by Bond at the start of the movie; Bond's even more surprised when a second Blofeld walks down the staircase and he realises the man he killed was a BodyDouble. |
| 56 | * The villain and the chair are, of course, parodied in ''Film/AustinPowers''. |
| 57 | * The BigBad in ''Film/ExitWounds'' is revealed this way. |
| 58 | %%* The ''Film/HouseOnHauntedHill1999'' remake had the dead body version. |
| 59 | * Walter Donovan does this to Indiana when he shows up again in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', except it was an ordinary non-swiveling chair, and Donovan revealed himself by standing up and turning around. |
| 60 | * In ''Film/TheLivesOfOthers'', Christa-Maria Sieland is being interrogated by [[UsefulNotes/TheStasi Ministry for State Security]] Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler. Both are sitting in chairs with a desk between them but his has its back to her. The audience knows who the interrogator is, but she doesn't. When he does swivel his chair around, she gasps, as she encountered him before and told him he was a good man, unaware he was spying on her. |
| 61 | * Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse: |
| 62 | ** Played with in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''. During the mid-credits sequence that reveals [[spoiler:Thanos]] as the GreaterScopeVillain, rather than turning around in a spinning chair, he gets up and looks over his shoulder. However, he plays this trope straight in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014''. |
| 63 | * ''Film/MyFavoriteBrunette'', a Bob Hope film, has one of these. Since Bing Crosby turns up somewhere in just about every Bob Hope film, the audience is carefully set up to expect him to be the Cool Tough Guy Detective across the hall. The chair swivels, and... it's '''not.''' [[spoiler: It is, in fact, the Cool Tough Guy actor whose name Hope has just mentioned -- Creator/AlanLadd.]] |
| 64 | * ''Film/OneNightInOctober'': At the climax of Michelle's story, when she has Jason in the garage, we see Hewitt sitting in a chair, facing away from them. Michelle turns the chair around, revealing [[spoiler:all the skin on Hewitt's face has been cut off]]. |
| 65 | * The remake of ''Film/{{The Parent Trap|1998}}'' had the mother and one twin arrive home to find the other twin sitting at the grandfather's desk. In this version, though, [[NewspaperThinDisguise her face was covered by a newspaper.]] |
| 66 | * The dead body thing was in ''Film/{{Psycho}}''. It's a very creepy scene, despite the fact that a light tap on the shoulder shouldn't be enough to swivel the chair completely around. |
| 67 | ** Parodied in ''Film/HighAnxiety'', when they spin around his chair to reveal the poor doctor slumped over horribly with his eyes and mouth hanging open? But he wakes up when they scream. |
| 68 | * Rachel's ex(?) at the end of ''Film/TheRing''. |
| 69 | * ''Film/ScreamersTheHunting''. The two survivors of the DwindlingParty return to their spaceship only to find one of their 'dead' colleagues in the form of a Screamer cyborg waiting in the pilot seat for them. |
| 70 | * ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow'' (2004). Doctor Totenkopf is revealed to be [[spoiler:DeadAllalong]] when a light is turned on, showing him sitting in a chair. |
| 71 | * In ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'', Kirk is transported to a Klingon ship after being nearly killed, and is introduced to the person who just saved his life. The chair swivels round to reveal Spock. |
| 72 | ** In fact this movie has two invocations of this trope: earlier on, Sybok communicated by viewscreen with the "captain of the ''Enterprise''." The captain's chair on screen swivels to reveal ... Chekov. It's a ruse to hide the fact that the real captain, Kirk, is down on the planet executing a sneak attack, but it comes across as a joke at Chekov's expense (the movie seems to be saying "Ha ha, it's Chekov in the captain's chair, as if.") |
| 73 | * The climax of ''Film/TowerOfDeath'' has the protagonist, Bobby, confronting the villainous kung-fu fighter responsible for his brother Billy's death, after beating up a room full of mooks and braving various traps. Then, the villain swings his chair around, and Bobby discovers him to be Chin, a friend of Billy whom had turned traitor and faked his own death. |
| 74 | * This is done with the BrainwashedAndCrazy heroine Nastasia at the end of ''Film/WarriorOfTheLostWorld''. |
| 75 | [[/folder]] |
| 76 | |
| 77 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 78 | * In his autobiography ''About Face'', Colonel Hackworth does this as a practical joke. Seated at the front of the briefing room in a huge sofa he'd appropriated, he starts ranting about how his soldiers weren't maintaining the regulation military crewcut, finishing by turning to face them to reveal he was wearing a long hippie wig. |
| 79 | * At the end of the novel and film ''Film/CaptainBlood'', one of the villains is brought before the Royal Governor to be punished for his crimes, and is shocked when the Governor turns to face him and is Blood himself, who the last time the fugitive saw him was as an escaping slave. |
| 80 | * ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'': ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'' has a variant -- Uncle Andrew reveals himself by standing up, rather than rotating the chair. |
| 81 | * Death does it in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/{{Mort}}''. |
| 82 | * ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': In ''Literature/{{Changes}}'', Harry returns to his apartment to find two allies have been cocooned by his sometimes crazy, always dangerous Fairy Godmother there. She reveals herself in this way, which is particularly impressive because, as Harry notes, the chair she's sitting on ''isn't'' a swivel chair. |
| 83 | * In ''Literature/TheEyesOfTheDragon'' Prince Peter, serving-boy Dennis and his friend Naomi corner Flagg in the late King Roland's study (the scene of his fatal poisoning). Flagg is surprised when the chair by the fire scootches around to reveal a surprise eyewitness to his crime; the younger Prince Thomas [[spoiler: who proceeds to [[ChekhovsSkill shoot Flagg through the eye]] with his father's great bow.]] |
| 84 | * Voldemort did this in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', shortly before killing Frank Bryce. (Since he's trapped in a miniature and barely-functional body, he needs his minion Wormtail to spin the chair for him.) |
| 85 | * In the final book of Creator/TadWilliams' ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn'' trilogy, Simon discovers (the unfortunately very alive) King Elias via this trope, while he's prowling around in Pryrates' tower. |
| 86 | * ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': |
| 87 | ** In ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Solo Command]]'', the pilots are sitting in their lounge on the flagship discussing the failings of their higher-ups and the moves they would make if they were in charge. A heretofore-ignored chair spins away from a computer terminal to reveal General Han Solo, leader of the entire task force. Being Han, though, after an initial OhCrap moment, he congratulates their insight and takes their suggestions to heart. |
| 88 | ** In ''[[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy The Last Command]]'', Mara and Luke go to Wayland, and cut through the Emperor's throne room there. Turns out Joruus C'baoth is sitting in it. |
| 89 | [[/folder]] |
| 90 | |
| 91 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 92 | * ''Series/{{Angel}}'' got one of these in "[[Recap/AngelS05E14SmileTime Smile Time]]" when the chair contains... still Angel. But now he's been turned into a puppet. |
| 93 | * ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': |
| 94 | ** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E4BeautyAndTheBeasts Beauty and the Beasts]]", Buffy finds the school counselor dead in his chair after swiveling it around. |
| 95 | ** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E17Superstar Superstar]]" when the gang goes for help from Sunnydale's greatest hero. The chair spins and it's... Jonathan. |
| 96 | * ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' parodies this trope. Certain members of the Bluth family have a penchant for dramatically swiveling to reveal their presence... in chairs that aren't supposed to swivel, including on at least one occasion a very bulky armchair. |
| 97 | * In ''Series/TheATeam'' episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E15MembersOnly Members Only]]", Murdock's back is seen for about a minute behind Hannibal and Face before he turns around. They are at a very upscale country club where Face is trying hard to become a member, and Murdock is there as a guest of his doctor. He reveals they come there every Friday. |
| 98 | * In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'''s "The Cooper Extraction" episode, the cast imagines how their lives would have been different had never met Sheldon. The Chair Reveal from ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' is referenced when Howard envisions that if he had not gotten married (he met Bernadette through Sheldon), his mother's body would have desiccated and he would have assumed her personality, much like Norman Bates. |
| 99 | * On ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'', Mr. Feeny does this to reveal that he is Cory's new principal when Cory gets sent to the principal's office on his first day of high school. |
| 100 | * ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' attempts to use this on Captain Awesome. He does not fare well. |
| 101 | * Parodied in ''Series/LeCoeurASesRaisons'' when Criquette reveals that she is the new director to St. Andrews TV station. She spins very clumsily after announcing both the news AND the fact that she was about to turn around dramatically to Ridge. |
| 102 | * ''Series/{{CSI}}'' did this for the result of Greg's evaluation - the spinning chair revealed not Grissom, but a gelatinous dummy used earlier in the episode for electrics testing, with a "You Passed!" note pinned to it. |
| 103 | * Done on ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'', likely ripping off the ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' example. When a character attempts to plead their case to resident villain Stefano [=DiMera=], she talks to a back facing chair. Finally fed up with his lack of response, she grabs onto the chair to turn it around . . . to reveal Stefano's mummified corpse. |
| 104 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 105 | ** Subverted in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks "Remembrance of the Daleks"]]. The rebel Daleks are led by a character in a chair who is hidden from the audience, who fans naturally assumed was Dalek creator Davros. It turns out that [[spoiler:it's the [[CreepyChild Creepy Girl]] who's been watching events the whole story]]. |
| 106 | ** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E5TimeHeist "Time Heist"]]: Madame Karabraxos is introduced like this, [[spoiler:the reveal being that she looks exactly like Ms. Delphox.]] |
| 107 | * ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' did this in "Revenging Angel". D'Argo thinks he's going to turn the chair around to find Crichton, but instead finds a dummy stuffed with dynamite. |
| 108 | * ''Series/HappyEndings'': Dave, Max, and Alex do this, but Dave screws it up. |
| 109 | -->'''Dave:''' You know I'm not good at dramatic swivels! |
| 110 | * In ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', [[spoiler:Elle]] discovers [[spoiler: Bob]] has been murdered by [[spoiler:Sylar]] this way. |
| 111 | * Barney Stinson gets one of these in the TV show ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''. He brings his own chair for it. |
| 112 | ** "Don't touch that, it's a rental!" |
| 113 | * In an episode of the 1980s Creator/{{NBC}} show ''Series/ItsYourMove'', a kid is told that a famous rock producer wants to meet him. When the chair is turned around, it's one of the skeletons the kid used to fake a rock band. |
| 114 | * ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' has a subversion- a couple are arguing in a library containing several high-backed chairs. After they leave, the camera pans out to reveal Barnaby had been sitting in the chair. |
| 115 | ** Another has a Bed Reveal, with the camera panning to reveal the [[spoiler:mummified, years-old corpse of the murderer's brother.]] |
| 116 | %%* ''Series/{{Monk}}'' used the dead body version recently, in what may have been a homage to ''Psycho''. |
| 117 | * ''Series/PersonOfInterest''. Root does this to Detective Fusco using his own chair, and then gripes about how uncomfortable the chair is. |
| 118 | -->'''Root:''' Ugh, this chair's gotta be killer on your back, Lionel. You should look at some ergonomic options.\ |
| 119 | '''Fusco:''' You should pay more taxes so I can get a better chair. |
| 120 | * In the final episode of ''Series/PoliceSquad'', the "chair reveal" [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment reveals... another chair]]. The actual villain is standing off to the side. Another episode introduced the villain by focussing on him [[Film/JamesBond stroking a cat in his lap]]; he eventually has to crouch down uncomfortably to get into the view of the camera and introduce himself. |
| 121 | * ''Series/ThePretender'': |
| 122 | ** In "Keys", late in the first season, Miss Parker goes into her father's office and starts talking to his high-backed chair, which is turned away from the entrance. Then the chair swivels around, and the person in it isn't her father. Also a fake-out Chair Entrance, as this would have been the first time Mr Parker appeared on screen. |
| 123 | ** "Back From the Dead Again", the season two opener, has a similar scene; this time the person in the chair is Mr Lyle, the new series villain, making a Chair Entrance. |
| 124 | * A reveal of a "new Number Two" in ''Series/ThePrisoner1967''. |
| 125 | * Parodied on an episode of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' with Creator/AlecBaldwin demonstrating how to be a [[LargeHam handsome actor]], along with GlassesPull. |
| 126 | ** Recently played straight when a Christmas-themed opening skit was hijacked by [[spoiler:a returning Mike Myers as Dr. Evil.]] |
| 127 | * Janitor does it in the middle of a crowded corridor, petting an "invisible" half-kitten, half-monkey in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', while revealing his plan to [[MundaneMadeAwesome spoil the outcome of a basketball match]] to Dr. Cox. |
| 128 | * In a memorable Muppet sketch on ''Series/SesameStreet'', Grover wanted to surprise Ernie, but it was actually [[spoiler:Herry Monster]], disguised as Ernie, in the chair. |
| 129 | * ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': Season Ten's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E13Beacon Beacon]]" does this in the teaser, having Tess walk into her office at the Daily Planet only to find someone sitting in her chair. It spins around to reveal Lionel Luthor, who is both her [[LongLostRelative recently]] [[TheReveal discovered]] [[ParentalAbandonment father]] and, well, someone who died a long time ago. He's actually her father's AlternateUniverse counterpart, and since this version is both [[AxCrazy eviler]] and [[AbusiveParents crueler]] than his deceased counterpart, Tess [[OhCrap doesn't exactly take it well]]. |
| 130 | * Played with in ''Series/Titans2018''. At the start of Season 3, Dick Greyson returns to Gotham and goes to see Commissioner Gordon. Several police officers standing around their boss step away and [[SamusIsAGirl she]] rolls her wheelchair around to face Dick, because the Commissioner is ''Barbara'' Gordon. |
| 131 | [[/folder]] |
| 132 | |
| 133 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 134 | * The music video for Music/AliceCooper's "He's Back (Man Behind the Mask)" ends with the son telling his hidden father that he didn't understand the film (''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives'', [[VideoFullOfFilmClips clips of which]] was used in the video) he went to see. The dad's chair spins around, revealing that he was actually Alice Cooper all along, and he offers to explain it to him. |
| 135 | ** Alice also does it at the end of the concert film, ''Good To See You, Alice Cooper'', when he is revealed as the psychiatrist that the director was talking to. |
| 136 | * At the end of Music/TwistedSister's video for "I Wanna Rock", the teacher (played by Mark Metcalf, aka "Niedermeyer" from ''Film/AnimalHouse'') goes into the principal's office. The chair turns to reveal the principal, who is played by Stephen Furst (aka "Flounder"), who then sprays him with a seltzer bottle. |
| 137 | [[/folder]] |
| 138 | |
| 139 | [[folder:Pro Wrestling]] |
| 140 | * This was how Wrestling/VinceMcMahon revealed he was bringing the Wrestling/{{nWo}} into the WWE, when he spun the chair around so the back facing a mirror revealed a sign with their logo that was taped to the chair. |
| 141 | [[/folder]] |
| 142 | |
| 143 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 144 | * [[spoiler:Reginald Griffin]] in ''VideoGame/AgentUnderFire'' is revealed this way. [[spoiler:His clone then sneaks up behind Bond.]] |
| 145 | * In the opening cinematic of ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', upon finding that they've been led into a trap by [[BigBad Handsome Jack]], the Vault Hunters get to the cockpit of the train they're on and find the driver's seat is occupied by a decoy of Jack primed with explosives. |
| 146 | * WesternAnimation/OswaldTheLuckyRabbit does this in ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'' when the titular character meets him for the first time. |
| 147 | -->'''Gus''': Well that was an exhibition. All it needed was a gift shop.\ |
| 148 | '''Mickey''': It's a little disturbing. I mean, I get that he resents me...\ |
| 149 | '''Oswald''': Ya think? *Chair Reveal* |
| 150 | * When Jowd makes it to [[spoiler: the submarine control room]] towards the end of ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'', [[spoiler: the masked muscleman answers his question about Yomiel by spinning Sith's chair and displaying Yomiel's abandoned shell. This sets up the fact that Yomiel's spirit is elsewhere and about to be trapped in the sinking sub without his body.]] |
| 151 | * In ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' in between chapters eleven and twelve, [[spoiler: Jacket finds his apartment broken into and his dead girlfriend on the floor. When the player walks upwards from the body, he sees the killer, a man named Richter, sitting on the couch. Richter opens fire upon Jacket, where it’s revealed he’s in a coma due to his shooting]]. |
| 152 | * Near the start of ''VideoGame/{{Hydrophobia}}'' Kate comes across a security guard sat in a chair. When going up and reaching out to him he falls back revealing that's he's dead. |
| 153 | * In the ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' DLC "Citadel," the team breaks into an arms dealer's saferoom only to discover this way that he has already been killed by TheMole. |
| 154 | * The ''VideoGame/NancyDrew'' game ''Danger on Deception Island'' has an interesting subversion: after seeing incriminating evidence suggesting [[spoiler:her friend Katie]] is behind the crimes, Nancy finds her sitting in a chair in the culprit's headquarters. [[spoiler:Turning the chair reveals that Katie has been tied up by the actual criminal.]] |
| 155 | * Invoked by Morgana in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'', who as part of his VictoryPose will fall into a chair whose back is to the camera, and then slowly turn it around to reveal a SlasherSmile and a lit cigar in his hand as you watch his enemies burst into bloody messes behind him. |
| 156 | * Done by [[spoiler:The Soda Poppers]] in the second season finale of Telltale's ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' games. On the DVD are loads and loads of fake alternate endings with different characters revealed to be in the chair, including [[spoiler:Future Sam, a bottle of Banang (which gets a round of applause and an "encore"), WebAnimation/HomestarRunner, Sybil and Abe (on an old black-and-white film backed with terror), the C.O.P.S, a "Will Return" clock, Mr. Featherly and Hugh Bliss]]. |
| 157 | ** Also done in episode 304, where [[spoiler: Monsieur Papierwaite]] has his chair faced away from Sam and Max and is begging them not to look at him. Max swivels the chair around, and reveals [[spoiler: the Elder God Yog-Soggoth embedded in Papierwaite's chest]]. They stare in confusion for about two seconds, then shrug. |
| 158 | * Used in the climax of ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''. After going through hell to reach the penthouse headquarters of the rogue Colonel Konrad, Captain Walker finds a chair on a balcony overlooking the sand-choked ruins of Dubai... then moves a little closer and sees [[spoiler:[[DeadAllAlong Konrad's desiccated corpse sitting in it.]] The real colonel had been DrivenToSuicide well before Walker even arrived in Dubai, meaning that the "Konrad" who Walker had been arguing with over the radio for half the game was nothing but a symptom of his SanitySlippage.]] When confronted with this revelation, all Walker can do is [[ThousandYardStare slump onto his knees and stare.]] |
| 159 | * In ''VideoGame/TormentedSouls'', [[spoiler:this is how Caroline finally finds William, who it later turns out is her dad.]] |
| 160 | * Parodied in the console versions of ''VideoGame/SpongeBobSquarePantsLightsCameraPants'', during the unlockable ''Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy'' cartoon. As the Sneaky Hermit is soliloquizing in his lair, the camera pans to a chair in front of a desk, which spins to reveal... nothing. Then the camera pans a little more to show the Hermit is standing ''next to'' the chair. |
| 161 | -->'''[=SpongeBob=] as the Hermit''': I should really get that chair fixed. |
| 162 | * In ''VideoGame/TombRaiderIII'', one of the bosses reveals himself in this way. |
| 163 | [[/folder]] |
| 164 | |
| 165 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 166 | * ''Webcomic/BatmanWayneFamilyAdventures'': When Bruce is trying to get into the Batcave despite being on supposed bed rest his attempt to sneak through his apparently empty office is interrupted when Damian spins the chair around and catches him, complete with his petting his cat like a villain's RightHandCat. |
| 167 | * In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', Agatha hears a voice calling to her and thinks it came from [[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20160226 behind a chair.]] It didn't. |
| 168 | --> '''Agatha:''' Who's there? If you're trying to scare us- ''*turns the chair, revealing a skeleton*'' Then well done! Ahh! |
| 169 | * In ''Webcomic/ThePhoenixRequiem'', when Anya arrives home from Aubeny, he finds out that Dr. Blythe is dead this way. |
| 170 | * In the ''Literature/{{Relativity}}'' comic (most of the stories are literature) "28 Minutes", Zephyra is looking for a bad guy, and sees a figure sitting in a chair facing the wall. She thinks it's a dummy, set up to fool her. [[DoubleSubversion She's wrong.]] |
| 171 | * In ''Webcomic/SeiyuuCrush'', just after Kaji thinks, "He seems normal", [=KoiZ=] turns his chair around to reveal he's wearing a bra. |
| 172 | * In ''Webcomic/SkinHorse'', Dr. Ao swivels around to reveal himself as... well, okay, Mr. Green. It's admittedly not much of a revelation at that point, but [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/2015-05-14/ he has a revelation chair and he's going to use it]]. |
| 173 | [[/folder]] |
| 174 | |
| 175 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 176 | * Completely parodied and downplayed in ''WebVideo/CodeMENT'', wherein Jeremiah Gottwald greets Diethard Ried with a chair swivel and a [[WeMeetAgain "We meet again"]] speech. He then marvels at how dramatic his own entrance was and how the chair [[BeyondTheImpossible wasn't even a swivel chair]], [[AchievementsInIgnorance it was deadbolted to the floor]], all the while Kewell Soresi thinks to himself how ridiculous all this is and that Jeremiah just caused $30,000 worth of damage. Between the two of them, as well as Diethard, who doesn't seem all that surprised to see him, having to interrupt these chair-based shenanigans, it loses any and all dramatic tension in favor of pure comedy. |
| 177 | %%* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KppJcI7-wXA Parodied]] by WebVideo/ProZD. |
| 178 | * This gets referenced by Ishizu in ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' when she tells Marik he isn't evil and that real evil people [[RightHandCat stroke cats]] while sitting in revolving chairs, or [[MadBomber blow up buildings]] and escape into the night [[EvilLaugh while laughing maniacally]]. After accomplishing the latter, Marik has this to say: |
| 179 | -->'''Marik''': I command you to eat my dust, Ishizu! Odion, take us to the nearest Walmart. I require a revolving chair and a kitten. |
| 180 | [[/folder]] |
| 181 | |
| 182 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 183 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'', specifically in the episode "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS3E29TheSaint The Saint]]", this is poked fun at when Gumball takes over Principal Brown's office to split up Alan and Carmen. When Gumball reveals himself sitting in Brown's chair, he turns too far, leading him to frantically grab the desk in order to correct himself. |
| 184 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}''. Silco discovers that Vi--the NotQuiteDead sister of Jinx, his PsychoForHire--has returned, and orders [[TheDragon Sevika]] to find her without letting Jinx know. Later Sevika bursts into Silco's office and says that they lost Vi, [[OhCrap only to have Jinx swivel round in Silco's chair.]] |
| 185 | * The end of the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' [[Recap/BatmanBeyondS1E1E2Rebirth pilot]] has Terry not waiting for the reveal and kicking the chair the moment he gets on the ship. Unfortunately, the villain is also pretty smart and is waiting for Terry to approach the chair. |
| 186 | * ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': |
| 187 | ** "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE31TheCapeAndCowlConspiracy The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy]]" had a great instance of this. An unseen character paying the Baddie of the Week to get Batman's cape and cowl turns out to be... [[spoiler:Batman]]. |
| 188 | ** Also used in TheMovie, ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'', when [[spoiler:Phantasm invades the home of Sal Valestra... and finds that Joker got there first]]. |
| 189 | ** Better still as a ''Suit Reveal'' in "[[Recap/TheNewBatmanAdventuresE3ColdComfort Cold Comfort]]". Batman snoops around Mr. Freeze's lair until he suddenly finds the suit. But Mr. Freeze isn't in it. Mr. Freeze is right behind him. As a disembodied head in a jar supported by big scary spider-legs. |
| 190 | * ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': In "[[Recap/BobsBurgersS4E15TheKidsRobATrain The Kids Rob a Train]]", once they're sent to the caboose, a chair turns around to reveal Regular Sized Rudy (kind of an effort for him to do that in a bean-bag chair). |
| 191 | * Done in ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', where Negaduck reveals himself like that to the main character through the prison's wardens chair and gets the added pleasure of first hearing DW try to warn him about Negaduck's planned prison break only for him to turn and tell him that it's too late. |
| 192 | * ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls'': Lex Luthor, who up until that point had been a VillainWithGoodPublicity, reveals himself to the Super Hero Girls with one of these. Supergirl even points out that it screams "bad guy". |
| 193 | %%* The dead body version was spoofed in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewSchool''. |
| 194 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': |
| 195 | ** The episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS6E8ThatDarnKatz That Darn Katz!]]" plays this surprisingly straight; Nibbler and Amy find Professor Katz sitting in his office chair with his back to them, and when they turn the chair around, he's apparently dead. [[spoiler:Then it turns out he was never alive in the first place; he's actually a puppet.]] |
| 196 | ** In another episode, Mom reveals herself to Bender, Leela, and Fry with a speaker-equipped swiveling chair specifically designed for this purpose. |
| 197 | * Done by Gideon Gleeful in the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "[[Recap/GravityFallsS1E4TheHandThatRocksTheMabel The Hand that Rocks the Mabel]]" when he confronts Dipper at the factory. |
| 198 | * Done in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Grojband}}'' episode "The Snuffles with Snarffles" by Trina and Wheelie the Cat. |
| 199 | -->'''Corey:''' Creepiest. Reveal. Ever. |
| 200 | * The ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' opening has a Chair Unreveal, where Gadget spins around Claw's chair and there's just a fake hand on a spring...which is attached to a [[CartoonBomb nice, round bomb]]. |
| 201 | * Done by [[TheNapoleon Olaf]] in Episode 103 of ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'' when revealing himself to Quack Quack, who has been kidnapped and brought to Olaf's lair. It turns out that the chair is too big, and Olaf struggles to get off of it. |
| 202 | * Done twice in ''WesternAnimation/MaxSteel'' -- once at the end of the first episode to show [[BigBad John Dread]], the other in the eighth episode to show [[DisneyDeath L'Etranger]]. |
| 203 | * Done by Jenny in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'' episode "Never Say Uncle", when confronting her mother about not telling her she has an aunt. Wakeman promptly lampshades it. |
| 204 | -->'''Dr. Wakeman:''' XJ-9, have you been streaming old detective movies again? |
| 205 | * ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': |
| 206 | ** In "[[Recap/ThePowerpuffGirlsS2E9ImaginaryFiendCootieGras Cootie Gras]]", Mojo Jojo does this twice: once to the Mayor and then to the girls after luring them to the Townhall, which he has taken over. |
| 207 | ** In "[[Recap/ThePowerpuffGirlsS3E4BubblevisionBoughtAndScold Bought and Scold]]", Princess Morbucks, who's bought out the mayorship, does this to the girls after they go to the Townhall to find out why the Mayor legalized crime. |
| 208 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': |
| 209 | ** Played straight in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E21BlackWidower Black Widower]]" after Sideshow Bob blows up his hotel room in an attempt to kill his wife Selma. When he goes in and turns around the chair he thinks her corpse sits in, he finds Bart instead (alive, of course). |
| 210 | ** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E15DeepSpaceHomer Deep Space Homer]]", some NASA guys are discussing whether they should tell everyone that the monkeys they sent into space all came back super-intelligent. A chair at the end of the table swivels around, revealing a monkey wearing a suit and smoking a pipe, who says, "No, I don't think we'll be telling them that." |
| 211 | ** Parodied in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E7KingSizeHomer King-Size Homer]]" when Lisa reveals herself to Homer while sitting on a large pillow on the living room floor, spooking him. |
| 212 | ** "Wiggum P.I.E.", one of the segments of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E24TheSimpsonsSpinOffShowcase The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase Spectacular]]", parodies this. While being pursued by Wiggum and Skinner, [[ArchEnemy Big Daddy]] races into his office, dives behind his desk... and when Wiggum and Skinner enter three seconds later, his chair swivels round to reveal him looking calm and composed as ever, complete with dramatic sting. |
| 213 | ** When Homer has to visit the IRS for his faulty tax report in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E20TheTroubleWithTrillions The Trouble with Trillions]]", the same chair swivels around twice and reveals two different men who both speak to him. |
| 214 | * Eric Cartman pulled one of these on Stan (while sitting in a Blofeld style egg-shaped chair) in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS6E16MyFutureSelfNMe My Future Self 'n' Me]]". |
| 215 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'': |
| 216 | ** Tombstone, previously TheVoice and TheFaceless, is first fully revealed this way, while speaking to Spider-Man in his office. Later, Green Goblin reveals himself to Tombstone in the same chair, to gloat that he's kidnapped Tombstone's [[TheDragon dragon]], Hammerhead. |
| 217 | ** At the end of "Gangland", [[spoiler: Gobby does this to Tombstone again, this time to gloat about setting up the episode's three-way villain fight, which left Tombstone's good reputation in tatters. Particularly dramatic since this was the Goblin's first appearance (in-costume, anyway) since season 1.]] |
| 218 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': |
| 219 | ** In [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E10LairOfGrievous "Lair of Grievous"]], Kit Fisto is tracking down Nute Gunray. He finds a room filled with droids standing around a chair from where Gunray's voice can be heard. After defeating the droids, the Jedi find that it is just a hologram. |
| 220 | ** The dead body version shows up in [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS2E15SenateMurders "Senate Murders"]] — when Padmé and Bail Organa go to confront Senator Mee Deechi about his apparent attempt to get them killed, they turn his chair around to find a knife in his chest. |
| 221 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'': The Monarch invokes this trope in the episode "[[Recap/TheVentureBrosS3E10TheLepidopterists The Lepidopterists]]" when dealing with Jonas Venture Jr. |
| 222 | [[/folder]] |
| 223 | |
| 224 | ---- |
| 225 | !!"Chair Entrance" examples: |
| 226 | |
| 227 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 228 | * In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/35706256/chapters/90534466#workskin Embers of Phenex]]'' [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Hallelujah]] introduces himself to [[VideoGame/Persona5 Goro Akechi]] by having him kidnapped and brought to his office so he can turn his chair around with [[RightHandCat his pet fox spirit Chiro in his lap]]. Akechi is unimpressed at this attempt at drama (especially since Hallelujah is around fifteen years old) until Hallelujah threatens to set him on fire. |
| 229 | [[/folder]] |
| 230 | |
| 231 | [[folder:Films — Animation]] |
| 232 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames'': This is how Principal Abacus Cinch introduces herself in her darkly lit office. The "Blooper Reel" then mocks it by having the chair [[SwivelChairAntics swivels much faster and longer than it needs to]]. |
| 233 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': Mr. Big is introduced by having the massive polar bear Korlov enter the room, sit at the desk and then open his large paws to reveal... the back of a tiny chair. And then he turns it around, and we get our first view of the miniature mob boss. |
| 234 | [[/folder]] |
| 235 | |
| 236 | [[folder:Films — Live-Action]] |
| 237 | * In the low-budget science-fiction film ''Film/TheBambooSaucer'', which starred B-list movie actor Dan Duryea (in his last role) at the top of a cast list of obscure actors, Duryea makes his entrance when another character enters an office and sees the chair behind the desk turned away from him. The chair revolves slowly to reveal Duryea. |
| 238 | * ''Film/TheBlackHole'' has a nicely underplayed version. The protagonists enter a huge bridge manned by silent black-robed figures. Maximillian, a large red menacing KillerRobot, floats down from an upper deck and deploys whirling cutting blades. Just when things are getting tense, a nearby chair swivels round from its console to introduce Dr. Hans Reinhardt. |
| 239 | * In the Film/JamesBond movie ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', Bond is dropped through a TrapDoor onto a slide that dumps him into a couch. There's a chair facing him with its back to the audience, from which a man is giving an EvilLaugh. Then the man stands up and introduces himself as [[KidnappedByAnAlly 'Tiger' Tanaka, head of the Japanese intelligence service]], and he's just having a chuckle over how easy it was to have the famous James Bond fall into his grasp. When Bond meets the real supervillain the trope is played straight, though instead of swiveling his chair round Blofeld just leans forward out of his [[CoolChair G Plan Model 62]] and turns to look at Bond. |
| 240 | * It's not the first time the ''audience'' sees him, but when Luke is brought before the Emperor in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', the Emperor is [[ContemplativeBoss facing out of the observation window]] before turning his chair to face him. |
| 241 | [[/folder]] |
| 242 | |
| 243 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 244 | * Parodied on ''Series/ThirtyRock'', where Kenneth's [[SitcomArchNemesis nemesis]] Donnie tries this but turns too hard and has to clumsily correct his spin. |
| 245 | * This is how Hatter is introduced in ''Series/Alice2009''. |
| 246 | * Captain Sheridan's first appearance in ''Series/BabylonFive'' has him seated in his command chair on the ''Agamemnon'', at first facing away from, and then swivelling toward, the camera. |
| 247 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E6TheCavesOfAndrozani The Caves of Androzani]]", [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Morgus]] is introduced talking on the VideoPhone while facing away from the audience. After he signs off he turns to [[AsideComment address the audience]]. [[SurroundedByIdiots "The spineless cretins!"]] |
| 248 | * Subverted with the second season of ''Series/Space1999'': the opening titles feature Martin Landau swiveling in his chair, jumping to his feet, and firing his weapon at an off-screen threat. One of the most dramatic scenes in the whole series! |
| 249 | * In ''Series/SesameStreet'', in the "Alphabet Chat" sketches, Mr. Chatterley slowly turns his chair to face the audience during the theme music. |
| 250 | * ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': |
| 251 | ** Played for drama in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E11TheMenageriePartI The Menagerie, Part I]]" to [[FaceRevealingTurn show the extent]] of Christopher Pike's horrific injuries, and the fact that he's completely disabled in the life support chair he uses for the reveal. |
| 252 | ** The [[SamusIsAGirl initial reveal]] of the female Romulan commander in "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E2TheEnterpriseIncident The Enterprise Incident]]". |
| 253 | [[/folder]] |
| 254 | |
| 255 | [[folder:Sports]] |
| 256 | * Used in the James Bond section of the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony to show that it really was HM the Queen alongside Daniel Craig as Bond, not an actress! |
| 257 | [[/folder]] |
| 258 | |
| 259 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 260 | * In the play ''Haunted'', the ghost of Lord Byron first appears on stage by swivelling around in the main character's desk chair. This also indicates to the audience that he's not another creepy stalker, there's something supernatural about him. |
| 261 | [[/folder]] |
| 262 | |
| 263 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 264 | * ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Parodied in "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS6E21Dentist Dentist]]"; Finn is escorted to the office of General Tarsal, queen of a nest of literal army ants, but finds no one there. Tarsal then comes in and asks Finn to pretend that she was there the whole time before sitting behind her desk and introducing herself with the "swivel chair entrance" shtick. |
| 265 | * In the penultimate episode of ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'', this is how Orel learns who the mayor is: [[spoiler:his father]]. |
| 266 | * Done by EvilOverlord Ludo in the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', "[[Recap/StarVsTheForcesOfEvilS1E1StarComesToEarth Star Comes to Earth]]". It also reveals that [[TheNapoleon Ludo is comically short]] compared to his minions. |
| 267 | [[/folder]] |
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