Line #60 Main/EvolvingCredits


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4	[[quoteright:275:[[Literature/InfiniteStratos https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/IS_credits_248_9133.JPG]]]] [[caption-width-right:275: When you run in front of them, [[CluelessChickMagnet it's hard to see all of the girls chasing you!]]]]
5
6	As the name suggests, this is when the TitleSequence or closing credits of a series are slowly altered over the course of its run, by updating or replacing scenes to reflect major changes that have happened over previous episodes. This is a popular way of avoiding a SpoilerOpening for more plot-driven shows, usually mysteries, by having major characters who haven't been introduced or [[ChekhovsGunman background characters with hidden importance]] initially being {{si\|nisterSilhouettes}}lhouettes or not appearing at all.
7
8	When shows are aired outside their home country, on syndication with other broadcasters or collected on DVD, the changed credits might not be carried over, with the first version of the credits used throughout (or replaced by entirely different ones).
9
10	Compare EvolvingMusic and EvolvingTitleScreen. Not to be confused with TitleSequenceReplacement, where the title sequence for even previous episodes is changed for syndication and rerun purposes. If this happens every single episode, it may be a CouchGag.
11	----
12	!!Example subpages:
13
14	[[index]]
15	* EvolvingCredits/AnimeAndManga
16	* EvolvingCredits/LiveActionTV
17	* EvolvingCredits/WesternAnimation
18	[[/index]]
19
20	!!Other examples:
21
22	[[foldercontrol]]
23
24	[[folder:Comic Books]]
25	* Creator/DCComics:
26	** The ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'' trilogy event, which involves Jean-Paul Valley/Azrael being recruited to act in Batman's place, employs this.
27	*** The self-titled first arc features the yellow and black classic ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' logo slowly being eclipsed by red and purple, and then a red and purple version of the new Azrael-Batman logo debuts on the cover of ''Batman'' #500.
28	*** This logo, now gold and black, lasted through the next arc, ''Knightquest''.
29	*** ''[=KnightsEnd=]'', the final part of the trilogy which has Batman facing off with Azrael, features the ''Knightquest'' logo as shattered and falling away to revealing the classic yellow-and-black ''Batman'' logo.
30	** The covers of ''ComicBook/BatmanCataclysm'' features a section of a Gotham City street that starts intact, but starts to fall apart as part of the in-universe earthquake until it's a smoking heap of rubble.
31	** ''ComicBook/ZeroHourCrisisInTime'' started doing this halfway through with its covers, where the heroes stared aghast at a BlankWhiteVoid slowly consuming the image, until by issue #0 (they were numbered like a countdown, so that was the final issue, barring tie-ins), the cover was entirely blank, with even the title being in black and white.
32	* Creator/MarvelComics has it's [[EvolvingCredits/MarvelComics own page]]
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
36	* ''Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}}'' lists the cast members in the opening credits... except for the Monster, who is billed with a question mark where the name should be. It's only ''after'' the film, when the cast is listed again, that we learn it was Boris Karloff.
37	** They did a similar thing with [[spoiler:Kevin Spacey]] when he played the serial killer in ''Film/{{Se7en}}''
38	* The ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' film series has the Warner Bros logo become progressively darker and rustier and the clouds become darker, representing how the story becomes darker and grimmer over time.
39	** This extends to the Fantastic Beasts prequels, which are set before the main series (and so are a little clearer and cleaner) but follow the same progression.
40	* ''[[Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjay The Hunger Games Mockingjay: Part One]]'' has an evolving '''Blu-ray menu'''. The video behind the main menu is a piece of propaganda from President Snow, but once the film has finished it's replaced with [[spoiler:the resistance's video of Katniss' "If we burn, you burn with us" speech]].
41	* Creator/SamRaimi's ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' had its opening credits appear on webs. The second and third films feature images from the previous films in the webs; furthermore, while the second film used painted art, the third film featured actual scenes from the films.
42	* ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'' did not include Leonard Nimoy as Spock in the opening credits, unlike every other movie and episode. This was to avoid giving away Spock's eventual resurrection and fast-aging (so that he could be played by Nimoy again). It worked because so many people thought Nimoy hated playing Spock, as he allowed him to get killed off in ''Film/{{Star Trek II\|The Wrath of Khan}}'' and wrote a book called ''IAmNotSpock''.
43	* The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse combines this with LogoJoke by updating the Marvel logo with each new Phase:
44	** Phase 1: A modified version of the standard Marvel "flipbook" logo used at the time with "Studios" appearing under the Marvel wordmark. Used from ''Film/IronMan1'' to ''Film/IronMan3'' (the first film of Phase 2).
45	** Phase 2: The comics flash on a 3D Marvel logo that the camera pans over. Used from ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' to ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' (the first film of Phase 3).
46	** Phase 3: The camera pans through comic pages, before transitioning to script pages, then concept art, then finally a clip montage of previous movies (with new clips added with each subsequent film), all within a silver 3D Marvel Studios logo. Used from ''Film/{{Doctor Strange\|2016}}'' to ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome''.
47	*** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' tweaked the fanfare by highlighting the drums, which sticks with later films.
48	*** All films released during the MCU's [[MilestoneCelebration 10th Anniversary]] (''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' to ''Film/AvengersEndgame'') render the background at the end of the intro black, with the 2018 half (''Infinity War'' and ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'') also turning the "IO" in "STUDIOS" into a red "10".
49	*** ''Film/{{Captain Marvel\|2019}}'' has all its clips replaced by those featuring Creator/StanLee, who died before the movie's release. The sequence then fades to black before the words "THANK YOU STAN" appear.
50	*** After the death of Creator/ChadwickBoseman, the Disney+ version of ''Film/{{Black Panther\|2018}}'' had its sequence changed to clips of him.
51	** Phase 4, set in the post-''Endgame'' status quo, uses the Phase 3 intro, but casts the concept art segment in monochrome gray and overhauls the clip montage, which again updates with each new movie and TV series. Used from ''Series/WandaVision'' onwards.
52	*** ''Film/WerewolfByNight2022'' has its sequence interrupted by a woman screaming and then switches to black-and-white, the fanfare goes into a minor key and OminousLatinChanting turns up as well.
53	*** ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'' opens in silence with clips of Chadwick Boseman.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Video Games]]
57	* In ''VideoGame/AngryBirds'', after a bird has made its first appearance, it will be seen leaping across the title screen. Upon completing an episode, an item related to the episode will be flying across the title screen as well. If you get [[HundredPercentCompletion all stars in an episode]], its respective item will adopt a star motif. Finally, the background of the title screen will change depending on which level you last played (if it is a level from "The Big Setup", however, the construction background won't appear).
58	* After you reach a certain point in ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'', the subtitle "Where the Fairy Flies" is blacked out to read [[spoiler:Airy Lies]].
59	** After you reach a certain point in its sequel ''VideoGame/BravelySecond'', the subtitle "End Layer" is changed to read [[spoiler:Send Player]].
60	* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty1'' changes its menu image as you play farther in the campaign -- at the start, it features an M1 Thompson; when you get to the British missions, it instead features a Lee-Enfield; and for the Soviet portion, it features a Mosin-Nagant.
61	* In ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'' the further the player's progress in the main single-player mode is, the more [[spoiler:pieces of the Black Marker congregate and take shape in the main menu. Completion of the game results in a fully assembled Black Marker drifting aloft the menu.]]
62	* The opening screen for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyThe4HeroesOfLight'' displays a simple map. Pictures of the towns appear sequentially on it as you complete their storylines. In the second half, portraits of your temporary party members from the first half begin to pop up [[spoiler:as you fix their pasts]].
63	* In the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series:
64	** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', each time the player finishes a playthrough, a new set of battle and story sequences are added in the opening credits. You need to complete the game 15 times to unlock all of them, and the most interesting of them storywise (such as [[spoiler: Lewyn being killed by Manfroy in battle, then resurrected/possessed by the Wind God Forseti]]) are of course the last ones you get.
65	** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'', once you reach Part 3, where Ike and the Greil Mercenaries are introduced, several scenes featuring them are added to the opening movie.
66	** In general, most games in the series include a "class roll" as an AttractMode, which goes through the classes of the game. More classes are usually added with subsequent playthroughs, up to and including the FinalBoss exclusive class in most cases.
67	* Weirdly enough (and showing how much the Japanese ''adore'' this trope), you can do this yourself in the game ''VideoGame/FireProWrestling Returns'', during a short video that flashes by the entire ''massive'' roster, and any created wrestlers you add will show up exactly where you put them, relative to roster position.
68	* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' and its Episodes show an area of the most recent chapter you've reached. ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' retroactively got this with its ''Source'' rerelease, and it would also be used in ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''.
69	* ''VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney'' has a title screen showing an audience inside a church. The audience changes as you progress through the missions, but with members disappearing as you kill them.
70	* ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini'' has a title screen that changes as you unlock more characters and levels: starting with just Juno running down a hallway, adding on Vela, Lupus and Floyd as they (re)join, kitting them out in their upgraded armor after the DiscOneFinalBoss, then finally showing them [[spoiler:without [[HeroicSacrifice Floyd]]]] walking on the Federation homeworld with fireworks going off in the background after you've beaten the game.
71	* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'''s menu screen features a Sith Lord surrounded by ominous fog. ''Which'' Sith Lord depends on who the [[TheManBehindTheMan currently revealed]] BigBad is. Bottom out the KarmaMeter, and it will be [[PlayerCharacter The Exile]] [[EvilerThanThou him/herself]].
72	* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' got one on PC with updates. Initially the menu was shown over a video of several zombies shambling about in an alleyway resembling one from the first campaign, "No Mercy". When the "Crash Course" DLC was added, the title video changed to zombies shambling about near the wreckage of a helicopter, which is where that campaign starts off at. The "Last Stand" DLC updated the title video again, this time to zombies shambling about near the lighthouse that is the centerpoint of the map in question.
73	* The end credits of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' changes depending on whether or not the player has collected certain masks: The Postman's Hat, Kamaro's Mask, the Great Fairy's Mask, Romani's Mask, the Blast Mask, the Bunny Hood, the Circus/Troupe Leader's Mask, the Bremen Mask, and the Couple's Mask. You're normally shown a shot of the masks rotating on a black background as the credits roll, but each one you collect replaces the shot with a small scene of the characters from their respective sidequests. [[note]] The Gibdo mask quest is also included second to last as part of the montage, but since getting it is required to beat the game without the use of glitches, the scene of Pamela and her father will play regardless of if you've collected it or not.[[/note]]
74	* ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2'' had an AttractMode that had all characters standing in a line with those yet to be unlocked merely as silhouettes.
75	* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'' has the main menu set inside Samus' ArmCannon. After choosing a game and save file to load, the camera zooms out while Samus turns and shoots as a transition into the game. The armor she's wearing while doing this is the same as the suit she's currently wearing in the save file you loaded. In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'', it even has different models of Samus' PED Suit as it gets more and more corrupted as the game progresses.
76	* ''VideoGame/RuneFactory2'' has the opening change to a second one, once the player has begun the cutscene to proceed to the Second Generation part of the game, when the player takes over as the hero's child.
77	* In ''VideoGame/SilentHill1'', the opening movie changes when you finish a playthrough with a Good+ End: [[spoiler:in the part where Harry and his wife find baby Cheryl, Harry's wife is swapped with Cybil]].
78	** Similarly, the opening attract FMV for ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' changes once you complete the game. This time, spoken dialogue is reinserted into what was previously silent scenes that gives them spoilerific context.
79	* In ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', the main menu is a shot of Earth. Prior to starting the game, the planet is intact, but returning to the screen after the intro instead shows the planet shattered. As the player progresses through the game & restores the Earth, the state of the planet is reflected on the main menu.
80	* In ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries SoulBlade]]'', completing the game with all characters in Arcade Mode changes the title screen / main menu from a bland gray screen to a picture lining up all the characters.
81	* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros.'':
82	** The credits of the first two games won't show staff that was only involved with creating characters and stages that haven't been unlocked yet. Also, if someone worked on, for example, Mario and Luigi, it would say they worked on Mario and ???? if Luigi's locked.
83	** The first scene in the opening sequence of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' (both the quick pass by the group and the shot of them standing on the cliff) gets increasingly filled with secret characters as they get unlocked. This is carried over from the N64 game, where the final scene before the title screen is the silhouettes of the secret characters, that are revealed as they are unlocked. The [=3DS=] game opens with a line-up of all the playable characters, again excluding ones that haven't been revealed or purchased.
84	*** Also, when [[spoiler:the Isle of the Ancients is destroyed during the plot]], it is replaced on the title screen with a large glowing X in the distance.
85	* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'', this gets used on the main screen in each game. The first game has a train that fills up with each member of Class VII that joins the party. 2 starts out with Rean all alone in the Eisengard Range after the events of 1. As you go through the game, the final main screen has Class VII on the deck of the Courageous.
86	* ''VideoGame/WildArms'':
87	** In ''VideoGame/WildArms2'', ''3'' and ''4'', whenever you load from a save it plays an opening credit sequence, and in ''VideoGame/WildArms3'' whenever you save and quit it plays a closing sequence. The sequences change based on how far in the game you've gotten so far.
88	** The original and ''Alter Code F'' have one generic clip used throughout the game. ''Wild [=ARMs=] 2'' and ''4'' have two different clips, which generally appear halfway through the game (on the second disk in the case of 2). ''Wild [=ARMs=] 3'' goes mad with this though, having no fewer than five variations of the opening credits, not counting the different songs which also play in the background which evolve independently of the video footage. Though to be fair the versions were mostly the same, all that changed was a bit in the middle that showed the current villains for that point in the game.
89	* The technical limitations of ''Wrestlemania 2000'' let you play with this as it used in game models and costumes during its intro, which could be edited.
90	* ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' features a [[EvolvingMusic thicker instrumentation for the title theme for every world you unlock]]. And when you unlock that last world...the whole rotating world's appearance changes too. The main theme changes as well - before you reach World 6, there is a track of crashing waves which slowly fades into the Yoshi's Island theme (the transition is so slow most players don't even realize it's there). After World 6, the theme plays immediately.
91	* For an extremely rare case of a console's BIOS pulling this trope, look no further than the Platform/PlayStation2's booting screen. Turning on the system with a completely empty memory card would show you nothing more than "Sony Computer Entertainment" in a dark blue void. Subsequently, the memory card will log each separate game you play on the system in a save file called "Your System Configuration", which has the effect of adding one white block per game on the startup screen. Furthermore, the more you play a specific game, the more its designated block will grow in height. And as you might have guessed by now, deleting the "Your System Configuration" file will devolve the screen back to an empty void.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
95	* In ''[[VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial Tokimeki Memorial: Forever with you]]'', if you complete a playthrough getting [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Shiori's]] love confession and [[GoldenEnding Ending]], the part of the opening demo where Shiori's lips are moving with no sound coming out, has now the sound added, revealing that she's saying: "Suki desu" ("I love you").
96	* The title screen for ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' is initially blank but for the menu and the title. However, in every character's route, there is sketch that marks the opening of a new act, and the sketches slowly fill the title screen.
97	* In ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', every time someone dies, their clip in the opening sequence and their picture in the cut-ins just before the class trial are shaded red. Also, [[spoiler:Nekomaru Nidai]]'s picture is shaded a darker hue than the rest after receiving life-threatening injuries in Chapter 3.
98	* In ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'', Creator/DCDouglas as Zero is not credited until the GoldenEnding.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Web Animation]]
102	* The opening sequence to ''WebAnimation/BattleForBFDI'' was changed twice throughout its run: when the split occurred the characters that moved to TPOT were removed from the opening, and near the end when the Announcer returns and Four leaves the show out of spite the Announcer takes Four's place in the opening.
103	* As its cast evolved (as characters were often introduced out of nowhere), the opening sequence to ''WebAnimation/BonusStage'' would change slightly between seasons to accommodate new characters, at one point adding a few bars to the song itself for Rya, Jessica, and Evil, until the theme song just changed entirely...twice.
104	* The opening sequence to ''WebAnimation/InanimateInsanityInvitational'' received subtle changes in episode 13, changing the cookie [=MePhone=] holds to be the Immunity cookie, and changing Bot's design to the one she receives in this episode.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Web Videos]]
108	* ''WebVideo/TheTwilightChronicles'' features new opening credits for every episode, featuring only the series regulars who appear in that episode, as well as that episode's guest stars.
109	* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' will change its opening sequence in its annual looks at ComicBook/TheCloneSaga, including updating the footage used in some areas!
110	* Linkara's other series, ''WebVideo/HistoryOfPowerRangers'' has received updated opening titles to add the ''[[Series/PowerRangersSamurai Samurai]]'' and ''[[Series/PowerRangersMegaforce Megaforce]]'' teams after both seasons began airing.
111	* ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'' updated the intro after Jon left and was replaced with Dan.
112	** ''WebVideo/SteamTrain'' debuted a new intro for its first anniversary, where Ross is conducting the train and Danny, Arin, Barry and Suzy are all passengers; compare this to the original intro which only featured Ross and Danny (with alternate endings if Arin was involved as well). The new intro is more in line with Ross' vision of the show, where he'd host and other Game Grumps members would come in and out depending on the game (although Barry and Suzy were only involved in four-player ''Steam Rolled'' series, save for four holiday-themed episodes for Barry). When Brian joined the Grumps permanently, he was added as a face popping out from the top of the carriage.
113	*** The Saint Patrick's Day holiday series ''Stout Train'' (with Barry and Ross) averts this, by keeping the same intro since it started. Except for adding any third player's face at the end, with Ross drunkingly stating, "Also [whoever]!"
114	** ''Grumpcade'' has the most variation. In general, there are three versions, for two players (with the two players shown as heads being picked with a claw crane), three players (with the players as faces on the each reel of a slot machine), and four players (with the players being selected on an arcade machine), but whenever anybody apart from Arin, Danny, Barry, Suzy, Ross or Brian is playing, one of the heads is a nondescript face with a question mark, before introducing the "guest" player.
115	*** In the Grumpcade for VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime, WebVideo/ProJared and Jirard WebVideo/TheCompletionist [[FusionDance fuse in the intro]] to become "[=ProJirard=] the Completionist".
116	*** The most complicated intros were made when Ross played VideoGame/SuperMarioKart with WebVideo/{{Markiplier}}, since Arin (who animates the intros) accidentally spelt Mark's wrong, but decided to turn it into a running gag, giving us Markipiler, Markiplire, Mairkpleirr, Parkilimer, Mdaosfjjh$(fv, and finally Markiplier.
117	*** The intros for the VideoGame/{{Miitopia}} series had Jimmy Whetzel as a guest, but for some reason the series had the two-player intro despite Holly also playing with them, so the intro pauses in a faux-VHS way as she's introduced. When Matt joins in from episode 9, he pops up at the end of the intro to introduce himself. Holly's and Matt's intros are also different for each episode.
118	* ''[[WebAnimation/TacoMan Taco-Man Plays a Video Game]]'' has the end credits play against an ever-lengthening compilation of one clip from each previous episode.
119	* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'''s animated opening for campaign two, "Your Turn to Roll", alters scenes as the plot develops. The book that the DungeonMaster holds at the end shows important [=NPCs=] of the current arc.
120	[[/folder]]

Context Main / EvolvingCredits