Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / LongBusTrip

Go To

1%%%
2%%
3%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!
4%%
5%%%
6%% ANY change to this image without staff approval will result in an instant wiki suspension.
7%% Image Pickin' thread for reference: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=17060504040.11966700
8%%
9[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Afbeeldingen.jpg]]
10[[caption-width-right:350:[[VisualPun Long Bus]] [[MemeticMutation is Loooooong!]]]]
11
12A Long Bus Trip is when a character is PutOnABus in such a way that arranging a return would be simple, but then the character never actually comes back. This is most striking when the audience only learns of it retroactively, especially when the character was intended or hinted to be returning. It may also occur as the result of a series being LeftHanging.
13
14CharacterOutlivesActor is a form of this enforced by RealLife. If DiedDuringProduction instead results in BackForTheDead or a BusCrash, that's TheCharacterDiedWithHim.
15
16When this is done to a character in-story as a coverup for execution, it's ReleasedToElsewhere.
17
18Compare ChuckCunninghamSyndrome and PutOnABusToHell. Contrast BusCrash (which kills the character outright) and BackForTheDead (when the character returns briefly, only to be killed off), and TheBusCameBack for that one single return.
19-----
20!!Examples:
21
22[[foldercontrol]]
23
24[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
25* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': After willingly going SealedEvilInACan after her final fight [[spoiler:to avoid being interrogated]], [[spoiler:Annie Leonhart]] was out of action for not only four years in-story but ''five years in real time'' without a present appearance, and after that she was still trapped in crystal, only to become BackForTheFinale with [[spoiler:Eren accidentally breaking her out as a side-effect once he wakes up the Wall Titans]].
26* At the end of the first arc of ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', Theresia, the daughter of the Apostle Count, swears to kill Guts as revenge for her father's death. She has yet to be mentioned over 300 chapters later.
27* Erza's friends from the Tower of Heaven and [[spoiler:Mystogan]] in ''Manga/FairyTail''. It took until past the first TimeSkip for Millianna to return as a member of another guild with Sho and Wally only showing up for a brief cameo in the penultimate episode, while [[spoiler:Mystogan]] didn't return [[spoiler:until ''[[Manga/FairyTail100YearsQuest the sequel manga]]'']].
28* At the end of ''Anime/HeatGuyJ'', [[TheHero Daisuke]] [[RidingIntoTheSunset rides off into the sunset]] on his motorcycle to go explore the post-apocalyptic world outside of Judoh. Kyoko [[IWillWaitForYou promises to wait for him]], giving him three years to return, and Daisuke promises to come back. Because the series was LeftHanging, however, he never ''did'' come back.
29* In the ''Manga/InuYasha'' manga, Kouga appears more and more often, even joining the heroes' team for a while, until Naraku takes his Shikon shards, then he's gone and never appears again. Despite Kouga having just received his tribe's very powerful ancestral weapon, meaning he's no longer reliant on those Shikon shards to fight at the heroes' level. Even Houjou, Kagome's other HopelessSuitor, gets an appearance in the final volume.
30* Kei Nijimura from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureJojolion'' is set up to be an extremely important character, being the one to first explain EquivalentExchange and [[spoiler:secretly being [[LongLostRelative Josuke's sister]]]]. However, after the fight with Poor Tom and Ozon Baby, she gets PutOnABus and isn't seen for another 27 chapters, lasting 2 whole years in real time, [[spoiler:at which point, she's BackForTheDead and gets [[DroppedABridgeOnHim quickly killed]] by Wonder of U]].
31* At the end of the second arc (and second episode of the anime adaptation) of ''Manga/KingOfBanditJing'', the nine-tailed fox Sherry swears to one day come back for vengeance against the titular thief. The series ended without her ever showing up again.
32* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
33** The character Gin from the East Blue Saga stated that he wanted to see the Straw Hat Pirates again on the Grand Line. Over 800 chapters, half of the Grand Line, and a two year time skip later, Gin still has yet to be so much as mentioned again -- not even in the various covers that show characters worlds away from the main cast. And this is in a series where the author seemingly [[ChekhovsGunman never forgets about characters]]. Then again, Gin was suffering from Don Krieg's [=MH5=] poison at the time, and coughed up blood before he left, meaning [[BusCrash he could have died off-screen]].
34** Foxy from the Davy Back Fight Arc vowed to get back at Luffy for giving him a crappy replacement Jolly Roger. Other than an anime-exclusive FillerArc, he has not been seen since.
35* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
36** Almost everyone Ash meets, he promises to see again. Only a fraction of those end up being {{recurring character}}s.
37** Ash promised that he'd come back for Pidgeot when he returned[[note]]This is actually a DubInducedPlotHole, Ash makes no such promise in the original Japanese dub[[/note]]. [[LongRunners Twenty-four seasons later]] (including four returns to Kanto), he came back for it right on the GrandFinale.
38** Maybe an even more ridiculous one would be Ash's Primeape, which was PutOnABus less than five episodes after Ash caught it, left in the care of somebody who promised to turn it into "a true champion". It was never seen again. [[DubInducedPlotHole The promise to return was only in the dub; the original dialogue had no such comment.]] Yet, the openings "Spurt!" (the final opening of ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphire Advance Generation]]'') and "Yajirushi ni Natte!" (the second opening of ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhite Best Wishes!]]'') still count Primeape and Squirtle as Pokémon who still are in his ownership.
39** Speaking of returns to Kanto, Ash travels to the cities where Sabrina and Koga hold court in the ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphire Battle Frontier]]'' season to fight in the facilities of the eponymous organization, but neither makes an appearance.
40* The Amazoness Quartet in the first ''Anime/SailorMoon'' anime. They mention that fate may bring them to meet the Sailor Senshi again, hinting they'd possibly return in the next arc. This wasn't unreasonable, considering that their [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]] counterparts did exactly that, as the Sailor Quartet, guardians to Sailor Chibimoon. However, they never appear in the anime again.
41[[/folder]]
42
43[[folder:Comic Books]]
44* Creator/BillEverett put [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namora]] on ice ([[LiteralMetaphor literally]]), reportedly with plans to bring her back, but unfortunately, he DiedDuringProduction. ''[[SubvertedTrope But then]]'', ComicBook/AgentsOfAtlas happened...
45* Two sets of ''ComicBook/XMen'' dove into what was essentially Hell to rescue their version of seven year old Illyana Rasputin from a demonic wizard named Belasco. One set got her out safely but were trapped themselves (the lucky ones died), the other set escaped but their Illyana spent seven years stuck there as Belasco's student while getting her soul sacrificed piece by piece before she overthrew him and returned to earth a heartbeat after Kitty lost her grip. A few years later, after Illyana's apparent HeroicSacrifice, her eldritch armor was torn open to find a seven-year-old and wholly uncorrupted version of her. It was over twenty years before the X-writers were permitted to account for what was obvious to most readers at the time... it could ''easily'' have been the other Illyana. Let's face it: for the X-Men, death is essentially being PutOnTheBus.
46* ''ComicBook/XWingRogueSquadron'': Elscol, a guerrilla leader who joined Rogue Squadron in the first arc of the comics, quit at the end of the arc following that. She knew that what she was doing was making a difference, but she knew any other good pilot could do as well, and she chafed under orders. She left without malice towards the squadron, hinting that she would try and talk Sixtus Quinn into joining the Rebel Alliance. But although plenty of other allies showed up again during the series, including a commando leader from that same issue, Elscol and Sixtus didn't. Not until the novels, anyway.
47[[/folder]]
48
49[[folder:Comic Strips]]
50* The title character of the newspaper comic ''ComicStrip/RobotmanAndMonty'' was written out of the strip, at the request of the comic's syndicate (tired of fielding complaints from readers confusing the absurdist humor strip with the much more kid-friendly "Robotman & Friends" toys and books). It would be easy to bring Robotman back, as he's alive and well in space, but it's unlikely to ever happen.
51[[/folder]]
52
53[[folder:Fan Works]]
54* Dr. Andrew, a DeliveryGuy OC who helps the Mistress deliver [[spoiler: [[UntoUsASonAndDaughterAreBorn mixed-gender twins]]]] in Chapter 13 of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Superjail}}'' fanfic [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8803490/1/Extended-Stay Extended Stay]], appears in this chapter only to never be seen again for the rest of the fanfic. The only thing that hints at his return is when he tells the new parents to call him back in when they're ready for him.
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
58* Warren T. Rat and his gang in ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' are defeated by putting them on a ship headed for Hong Kong. Instead of having them come back for the sequels they instead brought in new villains for each movie.
59* Eddie from ''WesternAnimation/RoverDangerfield'' didn't move out to the farm with Rover in the end so his fate is unknown.
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]
63* Despite ''Film/JurassicWorld'' bringing back many of the original dinosaur species, and ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'' confirming that at least one embryo of its species is still in storage, ''Dilophosaurus'' from the original ''Film/JurassicPark'' has made no appearances since the first film (at least in the flesh). [[TheBusCameBack It finally returned in]] ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion''.
64[[/folder]]
65
66[[folder:Literature]]
67* In John Bunyan's ''Literature/PilgrimsProgress'', Christian (or Pilgrim, depending on which version you're reading) has to fight the beast Apollyon. When he's defeated, Apollyon swears vengeance on Christian, but aside from a couple of name-drops, Apollyon is never mentioned again.
68[[/folder]]
69
70[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
71* In ''Series/TwentyFour'', the fan favorite villain Mandy is last seen in the final of Season 4 [[spoiler: making a deal in exchange for immunity from her past and present crimes]], much like a certain other recurring female villain who did make a reappearance. While it could be argued that she left her life of crime after this, she was intended to return in Seasons 7 and 8, but the decision was dropped to avoid making "sensational moves", although there is a chance she might return in a spinoff.
72* ''Series/TheATeam'': Col. Lynch (Bill Lucking) is put on a long bus trip after appearing in the first season. He's replaced by Col. Decker (Lance [=LeGault=]), who in turn was PutOnABus and replaced by General "Bull" Fullbright (Jack Ging). Decker returned for the A-Team's court martial in Season 5.
73* On ''Series/{{Becker}},'' Terry Farrell's character, Reggie, was put on one when Farrell was booted from the series under suspicious circumstances (she has told interviewers that it came as a complete shock to her and that she is unsure of exactly why it happened, although she reportedly led a strike among the show's cast). Farrell was even fired before the episode was filmed, and thus never even ''appeared'' on the episode where she was placed on the long bus trip, but was dismissed in a rather unflattering way where Farrell herself vanished but Reggie's continued presence was inferred (i.e. it was simply ''related'' that she slept with Becker, and it made her realize that she needed a change ''immediately''). This was all done in a ''very'' implausibly slipshod way, obviously trumped up at the last minute: i.e. it was inferred that Reggie was popping in and out without Farrell ever being on-camera during the entire episode, and finally Reggie said good-bye to the cast in a phone-call that was ''dictated'' to them all by a complete stranger (don't ask -- I ''said'' it was implausibly slipshod).
74* Dr Goodman from ''Series/{{Bones}}'' went on a "six month sabbatical" on the second season opener and that is literally the last time we've ever heard of him. He didn't appear, or even get ''mentioned'', on the show's 100th episode which was specifically a "before the pilot" flashback.
75* In ''Series/{{Coupling}}'' (the original British version) Jeff disappears between Series 3 and 4 as a result of his actor not wanting to return. His absence is explained by a hilarious one sided phone conversation with Steve: "No, Jeff, the name of the island is pronounced Les-BOSS..... well that was fairly over-optimistic of you really wasn't it?". By the end of the show, Jeff is still "trapped" on Lesbos as a result of not being able get a passport... or something; WordOfGod has it that he ultimately decided to live there.
76* On ''Series/CriminalMinds'', Aaron Hotchner goes into witness protection after a murderous unsub starts popping up at Hotch's son's school. It is presented as though Hotch will be back as soon as they are able to catch Mr. Scractch, but anyone paying attention to the behind the scenes goings on knew this wasn't going to happen since Hotchner's actor, Thomas Gibson, had been fired after an on-set physical altercation with a writer. When Scratch is eventually dealt with, Hotchner is said to have decided to resign in order to be a full time dad.
77* On ''Series/{{Dallas}}'', Barbara Bel Geddes (who played the matriarch of the Ewing family, Mrs. Ellie) left the series in 1990 because she was quitting acting. The official reason in-show was that she was leaving to go on a tour of the Orient, and (off-screen) deeded the Southfork ranch to her son, Bobby. Despite her appearances in several of the Dallas reunion specials, she never appeared in either of the two television movies (J.R. Returns and War of the Ewings) made in the 90's.
78* ''Franchise/{{Degrassi}}'':
79** Alex (who literally gets on a bus), Darcy, Mia, Ashley, and many other characters on ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration'' ended their runs on the show this way.
80*** It's actually pretty funny that Peter's last two girlfriends, Mia and Darcy, both took long bus trips straight to Creator/TheCW to star in other teen dramas.
81*** The execs are not unaware of this bit of humor, and commented when ''Series/EighteenToLife'' got an airtime on The CW that it was the first time a Degrassi alum got a CW series without dating Peter. Then talked about doing a ''Degrassi'' mini where [[{{Retcon}} Peter and Ellie date]].
82** Alli's older brother Sav graduates from Degrassi and is never seen again, not for any holidays, or Alli's birthdays, or even when she is a victim of DomesticAbuse. Although most of the ''Degrassi'' cast members GraduateFromTheStory at some point, Sav's absence was notable because his sister remained on the show for some time after he left.
83* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
84** [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]] notwithstanding, Sarah Jane was left on Earth for 30([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIT_dating_controversy ish]]) years before [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion resurfacing in 2006]] and getting [[Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures her own spinoff show]]. The reason that it was a bus trip rather than simply being written out was that [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E2TheHandOfFear Sarah Jane was forced to leave]] because [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin the Doctor was summoned to Gallifrey]].
85** Jenny, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter the Doctor's daughter]], was shown to have revived and left the planet she was on to follow in her father's footsteps. Creator/GeorgiaMoffett has expressed interest in reprising the role, as well, but it seems doubtful now that anything will come of it.
86** As New Who progresses, more characters come back from a Long Bus Trip (not counting the Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse). Series 1 had the Autons after 34 years, Series 3 had the Macra after 40 years, Series 7 had the Great Intelligence after 44 years and the Ice Warriors after 39 years, and the 50th Anniversary had the Zygons after 38 years. The 2022 Easter Special had Sea Devils returning for the first time since 1984.
87** The Pandorica Opens had a bus with a lot of passengers coming back for the LegionOfDoom from the Classic Series, including the Zygons and Drahvins. However we only saw the creatures that had been in New Who up till that point, meaning a lot of fans felt this was a missed opportunity.
88** The Eighth Doctor himself returned after seventeen years for the mini-sode [[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor "The Night of the Doctor"]].
89** The classic Cybermen were absent from the revived series for over twenty-five years until making a grand reappearance in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E12NightmareInSilver Nightmare in Silver]]" (while Cybermen did appear before then, those were a different breed from a parallel Earth, and supposed appearances of the Mondasian Cybermen [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E12ThePandoricaOpens in other episodes]] looked identical to their Cybus counterparts). The ''classic'' classic Cybermen from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E2TheTenthPlanet The Tenth Planet]]" wouldn't come back until Series 10 -- over ''fifty'' years later!
90** The undisupted king of this however is Ian Chesterton who was gone from the series for '''57''' years before making a suprise cameo in "[[Recap/DoctorWho2022CENThePowerOfTheDoctor The Power of the Doctor]]". Making Ian the only companion of the first Doctor to show up again in the story.
91** Following close behind is the Celestial Toymaker, who first appeared in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E7TheCelestialToymaker 1966's titular episode]] and returned to be the main villain in the 60th Anniversary Specials.
92* In the beginning of the second season of ''Series/EnemyAtTheDoor'', Clare Martel has a nervous breakdown, and is prescribed a period of rest and seclusion away from anything that might remind her of her troubles. She goes to stay as a guest at a convent, and although there are reports of her progress every few episodes, she never appears on-screen again.
93* This was done to Brooke Smith's character Erica Hahn on ''Series/GreysAnatomy'' for no apparent reason whatsoever: they spent several episodes building up her relationship with Callie, including an excellent scene where she tearfully declares that Callie "[[ComingOutStory is glasses]]," only to randomly fire her because the writers stopped liking their own story. Erica and Callie get in a fight about the Izzie LVAD-cutting debacle and about how Callie "[[NoBisexuals can't be]] ''[[NoBisexuals kind of]]'' [[NoBisexuals a lesbian]]," and she walked off into the parking lot... ''forever''. She was then more or less replaced with perky LipstickLesbian Arizona Robbins. Further proof of Shonda Rhimes' ridiculous and fickle casting habits.
94* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'': After Creator/JonPolito was fired, his character Steve Crosetti was said to be on vacation in Atlantic City. The characters actually lampshade that he's been on his vacation for too long and wonder what's going on. In the same episode, [[spoiler:[[BusCrash Munch and Bolander report to the scene of a suicide and identify the body as Crosetti]]]].
95* ''Series/{{Jessie}}'': Season 1 ends with Mr. Kipling revealed to be a ''Mrs.'' Kipling and giving birth to twelve baby lizards; early on in Season 2, the baby lizards leave the show and are donated to Mrs. Chesterfield's Lizard Sanctuary. They never made another appearance for the rest of the show, outside of mentions.
96* Many, many characters on ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'' were put on some long bus rides... and then never mentioned again. The most notable include [[EnsembleDarkHorse Jason Winkler]], [[ManipulativeBastard Vera Devinish]], and [[LovableJock Mick Campbell.]] [[TheBusCameBack At least Mick got a cameo a the end of season 3...]]
97* C.J. Lamb, the sexually flexible junior associate on ''Series/LALaw''. vanished at the end of a season. The following season opener included a throwaway line about how she quit to join the LPGA tour.
98* When ''Series/MamasFamily'' transitioned from NBC to CBS, and the actors for the two characters were no longer available, Buzz and Sonja were said to have gone off to college...and were never heard from again. Not even at Christmas.
99* Sergeant Scott of ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' was mentioned as having called in sick in one episode. That was the last mention of him. Especially jarring since both his predecessor ''and'' his successor was phased out simply by having them promoted and therefore moved to a different position in the police force.
100* ''Series/{{Neighbours}}'':
101** Marlene Kratz went on a three month cruise in 1997. She's due back any day now.
102** Also Connor, who was either killed by Paul Robinson's [[EvilTwin crazy son]] or went on a trip overseas.
103* ''Series/NYPDBlue'':
104** The departure of Creator/DavidCaruso was an example of this trope. Detective John Kelly doesn't even resign from the force. He simply moves to another precinct, leaving the option open for potential guest appearances in the future. There were even some hints later in the same season of his character coming back to be the best man at Detective Sipowicz's wedding, but a handwave was used to explain why it doesn't actually happen (in real life, the actor simply would not have agreed to return, even as a one-shot guest appearance, nor would producer David Milch have wanted him back).
105** Implausibly, Kelly doesn't even ''visit'' his best friend Andy Sipowicz even when Andy gets married, no matter how badly Sipowicz obviously misses him. (WordOfGod says that the ''NYPD Blue'' producer kept a ''picture'' of Caruso on his desk whenever any actor came to discuss a raise.)
106* Peyton Sawyer from ''Series/OneTreeHill''. Both she and [[spoiler:her husband]] Lucas and [[spoiler:their daughter]] were PutOnABus after Season 6. However, only [[TheBusCameBack Lucas returned]] in the final season.
107* On ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', Mark Brendanawicz left his city planning job for the government to take a new architect job at a private construction company in the Season 2 finale. Although the writers kept the door open for a return and planned to have Mark [[DropInCharacter come back every once in a while]], those plans never materialized partly due to the writers simply not being able to work out a way to bring him back and partly because actor Creator/PaulSchneider [[https://screencrush.com/paul-schneider-interview/ had no interest or desire to come back after feeling like his character was being left behind]] while the show was [[GrowingTheBeard finding more of its own identity and style]] away from its [[Series/TheOfficeUS parent series]]. It also overlaps some with ChuckCunninghamSyndrome, as even though Mark should still be living in Pawnee, a relatively small town, he is never seen, heard from, or even ''mentioned'' again, to the point of seeming like an UnPerson in the eyes of the writers. Notably, while many other prominent supporting characters [[BackForTheFinale made cameo appearances in the seventh and final season]], Mark wasn't one of them, nor does he show up in any of the clips playing during a flashback montage in the GrandFinale. He also wasn't brought back for the 2020 ReunionShow either.
108* On the sixties sitcom ''Series/PetticoatJunction'', the show's star, Bea Benederet, died abruptly during the sixth season. Benederet played Kate Bradley, a widowed mom who had just become a grandmother (in an episode where Benederet was too ill to appear and was played by a FakeShemp). In a couple of episodes immediately following the birth of the baby, characters mentioned that Kate had to rush out of town and care for a sick relative. After that, she is barely mentioned again, and the show carries on almost as if she never existed. In one episode of the seventh season, her daughters remember her teaching them how to swim, and they seem a little sad, but it's left up to the viewers to decide if Kate died or not.
109* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
110** What became of [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers Trini and Zack]] after that trip to Switzerland is unknown, and is especially mysterious since Jason came back for ''[[Series/PowerRangersZeo Zeo]]'' and two guest appearances after.
111** A better example would be Rocky: he didn't even leave Angel Grove, he just stopped hanging with the Rangers. Per WordOfGod, they tried to get Steve Cardenas to come back for "[[Series/PowerRangersWildForce Forever Red]]" (the series' [[MilestoneCelebration 10th anniversary]] [[ReunionShow team-up episode]]), but he didn't respond in time -- and even if he had, Rocky would have just been Tommy's butler, rather than being given the unused-in-America ''Series/GoseiSentaiDairanger'' costume as fans believed.
112** And though bringing them all back would naturally be problematic production-wise, there are many past Rangers whose powers still exist, so you'd think they'd drop by for certain global catastrophies. In particular, [[Series/PowerRangersInSpace "Countdown to Destruction"]] could've benefitted from a few "stock footage shoots at other stock footage" type scenes from the Zeo Rangers and the (never stated to be in continuity, but why not?) [[Series/BigBadBeetleborgs other]] [[Series/MaskedRider Saban]][[note]]while Masked Rider does technically exist in ''PR'' continuity, since "A Friend in Need" was a PoorlyDisguisedPilot for the aforementioned ''Masked Rider'', no elements from ''Masked Rider'' are referenced in ''Power Rangers'' after that 3-parter, nor does ''Masked Rider'' reference any of the events of ''Power Rangers''[[/note]] [[Series/VRTroopers shows]].
113* Will Scarlett and Djaq stayed in the Holy Land at the end of Series 2 of ''Series/RobinHood''. Fans hoped for a reappearance in Series 3, but they never turned up again. No one even ''mentioned'' them ever again.
114* ''Series/ShiningTimeStation'' wrote out Music/RingoStarr's Mr. Conductor by having him accompany Santa Claus to the North Pole. A relative, also called Mr. Conductor (and bearing a resemblance to Creator/GeorgeCarlin) took his place, and the original Mr. Conductor was never seen or heard from again afterward.
115** Engineer Harry Cupper (played by Leonard Jackson) was a mainstay in season 1, but was written out and succeeded by Billy Twofeathers (played by Tom Jackson), his character having retired from the engineer business. Harry would return in the one-hour special "One of the Family".
116* ''Series/SesameStreet'': While most human characters have been [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome Chucked Out]] or PutOnABus, they still make live appearances, online videos, and reused street stories.
117* Alice from ''Series/{{Soap}}''. [[spoiler:She moves out of Jodie's apartment when Carol's mother said she wasn't happy with her granddaughter (Jodie's child) growing up with a lesbian -- the show was made in the 70s. She chose to move out so Jodie didn't have to make that choice but she never turns up even as a friend again.]]
118* ''Series/SpinCity'' had a knack for dumping characters [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome without acknowledging this]]. So when, towards the end of Season 3, Mike gets a temp secretary assisted to him because Stacey Paterno was sick, you'd expect the character to return. Cue Episode 2 of [=S4=], in which James becomes Mike's new assistant because he still hadn't got a new one and James would be out of a job otherwise. In between, no statement whatsoever is made about Stacey.
119* Franchise/StargateVerse:
120** Fer(r)etti in ''Series/StargateSG1''. Kawalsky's death in the first regular episode leaves him the only surviving member of the original ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' team other than O'Neil(l) and Daniel, and he was shown to be leading an SG team of his own in his several-second cameo in the first season finale. He was mentioned once more in season three, then permanently and entirely forgotten, though as a team leader, you'd think he'd at least be seen or mentioned around the SGC every so often. (Meanwhile, via flashbacks, {{time travel}}, and {{parallel universe}}s, ''Kawalsky'' has returned ''plenty'' of times.) Of course, the really weird thing about this is that Ferretti was made leader of [=SG2=] at the end of his last appearance, and [=SG2=] is never shown or mentioned again. [=SG3=] are recurring characters, and teams with numbers up to 25 are mentioned sometimes, but [=SG2=] is never spoken of. It's almost as though the writers were planning to have him make an appearance at some point, but never got around to it.
121** Jonas Quinn, after being a regular cast member in Season 6, hasn't been even ''mentioned'' in the ''Stargate'' universe since Season 7, even when his planet was invaded by the Ori. Even a ''Series/StargateUniverse'' episode involving said planet shows no sign of him.
122** Lt. Ford in ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', in an example that crosses over with NeverFoundTheBody, disappeared never to return following a hive ship explosion halfway through the second season. His conspicuous failure to return is more glaring in light of Sheppard's outright statement of relative certainty that he somehow survived and would turn up again at some point.
123* ''Series/TeenWolf'': A lot of the characters that got put on a bus are BackForTheFinale but a few, notably Isaac, Cora, Kira and Danny, are never seen again.
124* On ''Series/TheWestWing'', Sam Seaborn left the White House in order to run for Congress, which would have made him an excellent candidate for future cameos in the series. Although [[spoiler:it is revealed at the end of the series that he lost the race]], there seems to be little good in-universe reason for why he completely vanished. (Especially since they decided in the episode "Inauguration" to promote him to Senior Counselor to the President if he lost. This was just another subplot that was dropped entirely when Creator/AaronSorkin left.)
125[[/folder]]
126
127[[folder:Video Games]]
128* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' has a few people that went away for a long time:
129** Dick Gumshoe was the recurring detective and witness since the very first game and he would help Phoenix out whenever he could on his investigations. By the fourth game, ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', Gumshoe only appears in a flashback and he has not been seen since then. He does get a mention in a later game, but only once.
130** Mia Fey was Phoenix's mentor in the first game before she was brutally murdered. Her spirit would come back every now and then via spirit channeling through Maya or Pearl and she would help Phoenix out whenever he got in a bind. After the third game, she's pretty much written out entirely and isn't even mentioned by name other than "my mentor" by Phoenix. It can be assumed that Phoenix feels he doesn't need to rely on Mia anymore since he grew stronger as a person and lawyer.
131** Larry Butz, Phoenix's childhood friend, stopped appearing by the time of ''Apollo Justice'' with no explanation at all. Due to Larry being the {{Cloudcuckoolander}} and [[TheFriendNobodyLikes greatly annoying everyone]], it could be assumed that Phoenix didn't want to be near him. Larry would eventually return in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'' in an DLC episode and plays an important role there.
132* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'':
133** Tawna, Crash's main squeeze in [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot1996 the first game]], had a pretty rough go of this, disappearing altogether after being rescued. According to the Japanese manual for ''[[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack Cortex Strikes Back]]'', she broke up with Crash between games and started dating Pinstripe instead, leading to a nearly decade-long absence before reappearing in ''Crash Boom Bang!'', a ''very'' obscure DS party game released in 2006. Tawna wouldn't start making regular appearances again until 2017's ''[[VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy N. Sane Trilogy]]''.
134** There's also [[VideoGame/CrashBandicootTheWrathOfCortex the elemental masks]], [[VideoGame/CrashNitroKart Zem, Zam]], [[VideoGame/CrashTwinsanity Rusty Walrus]], [[VideoGame/CrashTagTeamRacing Pasadena O'Possum and Von Clutch]]. Eventually averted with Zem, Zam, Pasadena and Von Clutch, who all [[TheBusCameBack returned]] for ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacingNitroFueled'', while the elemental masks would have their turn in ''VideoGame/CrashOnTheRun''
135** All of the above pale in comparison to Mr. Crumb, who wouldn't avert this until his unexpectedly triumphant return in ''On the Run!'', '''23 years''' later.
136* The Nerevarine from ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' seems to have disappeared on a trip to Akavir sometime before ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' and only ever mentioned again in the context of having a biography written about them (which doesn't appear in-game to be read), despite their seeming importance as leader of most of Morrowind and an immortal godlike being.
137* [[spoiler:Midgardsormr]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' plays a huge role towards the tail end of ''A Realm Reborn'' and the majority of ''Heavensward''. They also play a role in the Omega storyline in ''Stormblood'' where they wind up [[spoiler:using most of their aether to save the [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]] from being killed by Omega]]. This puts them in a deep sleep to regain their spent energy and they haven't been seen or mentioned since. [[spoiler:Though a side story shows that in the alternate timeline the Crystal Exarch came back from, he eventually wakes up and helps to protect the people left behind.]]
138* Long-running FightingGame series that tend to shake up their rosters already do this [[CommutingOnABus to a degree]], but none perhaps as masterfully as ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'', which makes a point of shuffling around the cast of playable characters ''every single game''. Several fighters are unlucky enough to not reappear until the next DreamMatchGame comes along, and sometimes not even then! Couple this with the series abandoning yearly releases after ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003'' and several {{Sequel Gap}}s since, and you get a lot of fandom in-fighting about which "missing" characters should return in a future installment. Examples include (but are not limited to):
139** Eiji Kisaragi, originally from ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting 2'', was [[{{Transplant}} integrated into]] ''KOF'' for ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters95'', joining forces with [[VideoGame/FatalFury Billy Kane]] and newcomer Iori Yagami to form the Rival Team. [[KickTheDog Iori thrashes them]] [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness for their failure to defeat the Japan Team]] and, save for background cameos and showing up in Billy's intros against Iori in ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters98 '98]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002 2002]]'' to join his old teammate in cursing Iori, Eiji wouldn't return until ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXI'' -- nearly nine years later. One of his win quotes even [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall lampshades his long absence]].
140** Chizuru Kagura, a BarrierMaiden introduced in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters96'', was a mainstay of the {{Orochi}} Saga, staying on with the Women Fighters Team for [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters97 the next]] [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters98 two games]] as well as serving as a [[AssistCharacter Striker]] in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2000''. She'd return to playable status in ''2003'' to coincide with yet another Orochi-related disturbance, only to [[BroughtDownToNormal have her powers stolen by Ash]] and be DemotedToExtra, forced to recover on the sidelines for the rest of that StoryArc. Chizuru's next mainline appearance? ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'', which released in '''2022'''.
141** When Geese Howard was KilledOffForReal in 1995's ''[[VideoGame/FatalFury Real Bout Fatal Fury]]'', few were expecting him to show up in ''KOF'' the following year, even accounting for the series being an AlternateContinuity operating on the principle of SchrodingersCast. Since then, Geese usually sends [[TheDragon his right-hand man]], Billy, to KOF in his stead and only personally joins the tournament on occasion. So far, we have the console ports of ''2002'' (2004/2005), the [[Platform/PlayStation2 PS2]] port of ''XI'' (2006), ''[='98=]: [[UpdatedRerelease Ultimate Match]]'' (2008), ''2002: [[UpdatedRerelease Unlimited Match]]'' (2009), ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXIV XIV]]'' (2016), and ''XV'' (2022). His Nightmare form also appears in ''VideoGame/KOFMaximumImpact 2'' (2006), with the ''Maximum Impact'' games being another AlternateContinuity where Geese is dead yet again.
142** A very interesting example with K9999. Debuting in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001'', the first entry of the series where Creator/{{SNK}} was forced to pair up with Eolith due to their 2000 bankruptcy, K9999 was one of that saga's many [[OpeningACanOfClones "Kyo clones"]] created by the NESTS cartel but was not well-received due to being a blatant CaptainErsatz of [[Manga/{{Akira}} Tetsuo Shima]] -- right down to [[Creator/NozomuSasaki the voice actor]]. K9999 would make one more appearance in ''2002'' before SNK [[ExiledFromContinuity seemingly retired the character completely]], [[BuryYourArt replacing him]] in ''2002: Unlimited Match'' with Nameless, a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute who was far more original in terms of design and powers (and depicted in a sympathetic light). Then along came ''KOF XV'', which introduced Krohnen, a blue-haired, yellow-wearing former NESTS operative who's incredibly similar to K9999... and that's because he ''[[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown is]]'' K9999, having adopted a new alias to evade his former employers (with the Tetsuo traits being toned down considerably and Krohnen [[CompositeCharacter adopting aspects of fellow "clones" K' and Nameless]] [[DerivativeDifferentiation for his revamped design and moveset]], all to avoid any possible grounds for a lawsuit).
143* ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'': Largo [=LaGrande=] is [=LeChuck=]'s second in command and was last seen in ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'' in a blown-up evil lair that... wasn't even really that blown up. He has not been seen at later points in the series despite [=LeChuck=]'s constant appearances. He did show up in an AprilFoolsDay "teaser" of ''Monkey Island 5'', perhaps in recognition of this trope.
144* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
145** Before ''Pokémon Bank'' (which launched in [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Generation VI]]), Brigette's last appearance was in ''Pokémon Box [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Ruby and Sapphire]]'' three generations prior.
146** It took [[spoiler:Salon Maiden Anabel]] from ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Emerald]]'' over four generations before she made a reappearance in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon''.
147** Venonat and Venomoth were in the [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Johto]] regional Pokédex and then didn't return in another regional dex until [[VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet Paldea]], the only [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Gen I]] Pokémon to have this distinction.
148** Speaking about Pokémon species, some Pokémon stayed in only one regional Pokédex without any possibility of returning, adaptations aside. Shinx's family was one of the offenders, being exclusive to [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Sinnoh Pokédex]] and not appearing in any regional Pokédex afterward.
149* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
150** Barry Burton hadn't appeared in the series since ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil RE1]]'' before appearing in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations2'', a total of 19 years between appearances.
151** Rebecca Chambers tops even Barry, being gone from the story since ''[=RE1=]''[[labelnote:*]]''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil0 RE0]]'', while released in 2002, was a prequel and therefore doesn't count[[/labelnote]] before finally returning in the CG film ''Anime/ResidentEvilVendetta'' a whole 21 years later.
152** Claire Redfield, putting aside any CG media, hadn't appeared in a game since 2000's ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica''. She wouldn't return until in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations2'', 15 years later.
153** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake'' notwithstanding, Jill Valentine's last canonical appearance was in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'' (2012). She was missing from the series for a full 11 years until finally returning in the CGI film ''Anime/ResidentEvilDeathIsland''. InUniverse with the film set in 2015, it’s technically a much shorter bus ride with last her chronological appearance being ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 RE5]]'' (2009).
154* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
155** [[VideoGame/SegaSonicTheHedgehog Ray the Flying Squirrel]] and [[VideoGame/KnucklesChaotix Mighty the Armadillo]] were on the bus for around 20 years before returning as playable characters in 2018 via the "Encore" DLC for ''VideoGame/SonicMania''.
156** [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogTripleTrouble Fang the Sniper/Nack the Weasel]], [[VideoGame/SonicTheFighters Bean the Dynamite, and Bark the Polar Bear]]. The first debuted in a handheld side game and was a recurring character in spin-off titles. Bean and Bark, however, only appeared in one game. At least they got cameos as figurines or on [[LampshadeHanging wanted and missing posters]] in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' (2011) and Bean, Bark and Nack/Fang appeared as optical illusions in the boss fight against the Heavy Magician in ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' (2017). The real Fang would finally return in 2023's ''VideoGame/SonicSuperstars''.
157** Tikal only appeared in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', and nowhere else but side content. Tikal can be excused by the fact that [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence she's off with Chaos at... wherever it is they went off to at the end of]] ''[[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Adventure]]''. That being said, Tikal didn't reappear alongside Chaos [[VideoGame/SonicBattle in his only other canonical appearance]], and she did not show up (but was referenced on movie posters) in ''Generations'', which features Perfect Chaos as a boss fight.
158** Despite his redemption and [[spoiler:origins as Emerl, the RobotBuddy at the center of ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'']], Gemerl from ''[[VideoGame/SonicAdvanceTrilogy Sonic Advance 3]]'' has never appeared in any game afterward.
159** [[OneShotCharacter Marine the Raccoon]] from ''VideoGame/SonicRushAdventure'' is one of the few characters that's most likely to come back. Yet as of 2011, [[OneShotCharacter we haven't heard from her since her first game appearance]]. However, she was briefly mentioned in the DS version of ''VideoGame/SonicColors'' as well as a costume in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicGames Mario & Sonic at The London 2012 Olympic Games]]''.
160* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' brought back each and every playable character who ever appeared in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series up to that point. For characters such as [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pichu]] and [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Young Link]], who had not been seen since ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee Melee]]'', this marked their first appearance in the series in ''sixteen years''.
161* Creator/ValveCorporation:
162** ''VideoGame/HalfLife'':
163*** Adrian Shepard hasn't made an appearance in quite some time. Nor have the enemies that originated from his game, which were completely different that the ones Freeman faced.
164*** ''Half-Life'' itself [[{{Vaporware}} has been on rather long bus ride for over a decade that has no sign of ending soon]], so pretty much all of the above examples are moot, regardless. [[TheBusCameBack And then Valve decided to call the bus home with the release of]] ''VideoGame/HalfLifeAlyx''.
165** Valve is directly invoking this trope for [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} Chell]], so as to stick to their desired plan of using a different protagonist in future games. Chell was only brought back for ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' by playtester demand. However, [[WordOfGod Gabe Newell]] has said that Chell will have some importance in the ''Half-Life'' universe, so who knows?
166* The ''[[VideoGame/LikeADragon Yakuza]]'' series has Kaoru Sayama, who was introduced in [[VideoGame/Yakuza2 the second game]] as a love interest for Kiryu only to leave for the States at the beginning of [[VideoGame/Yakuza3 the third game]] and never be heard from again. She would return to the series in ''VideoGame/LikeADragonInfiniteWealth'', 15 years after her last chronological appearance.
167[[/folder]]
168
169[[folder:Webcomics]]
170* In the contemporary arc of ''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'', Ector was reactivated in the army and sent to Iraq, and that was basically the last we saw of him. In a much later newspost, Paul Gazikowski explained that Ector disappears from the source material at around the time Arthur becomes king, which makes sense in the baseline and space arcs, but that it's hard to justify the guardian of a modern 15-year-old simply fading from relevance. And he couldn't kill him off, because he wanted [[spoiler: Merlin]] to be the first major character death. So he was sent to Iraq, and never specifically said to have returned or been killed, until Arthur was old enough that maybe his foster father ''wouldn't'' be a constant fixture in his life.
171* Happens a few times in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'':
172** Punch and Judy were killed in [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040818#.XLPKT-hKiM8 2004]], brought back in [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060308#.XLPJ5-hKiM8 2006]] and didn't show up again until [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20131014#.XLPNkOhKiM8 2013]]. They also haven't been seen since.
173** Dr. Dim was [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031205#.XLPE2OhKiM8 introduced]] back in 2003 before disappearing about a year later. [[spoiler: He's [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20180509#.XLPEL-hKiM8 brought back]] ''15'' volumes later in ''2018''.]] This is on top of Krosp reappearing after his mysterious departure in [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20150506#.XLPLwuhKiM8 2015.]]
174** A whole ''city'' of people were put on a bus during the TimeSkip [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130508#.XLPGa-hKiM8 back in 2013]]. The few that escaped took anywhere between 2 and 4 years to show up in Paris.
175* In ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', the character [=DoytHaban=] is a former UNS SuperSoldier candidate with a powerful personalized A.I. implanted in his brain. He ends up temporarily taking a job with the main characters, [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2002-12-29 which brings the UNS' wrath down on them]]. Doythaban [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2003-02-23 was last seen having been "debriefed" by the UNS military]], with the implication that [[HeKnowsTooMuch he died during his subsequent incarceration]].
176[[/folder]]
177
178[[folder:Web Original]]
179* Greg the Spider from ''WebVideo/ArbyNTheChief'' left after being resented by Arbiter from a lie Chief forced him to tell. Considering [[StuffBlowingUp what happened at the season's end]], he won't be coming back either.
180* Tariq Bhartti of ''WebVideo/KateModern'' left abruptly for India and never returned.
181* Drago from ''WebAnimation/ObjectLockdown'' only had a short stay on the show as a contestant, and only had screentime in the first episode. However, he leaves the show somewhere between the events of "Rapping it Up" and "The Cream of the Crop," and never appears physically ever again. This happened because of his CreatorBacklash courtesy of the show's crew.
182* On the final episode of WebVideo/JonTron's ''Starcade'' series, it was revealed that Darth Vader was [[spoiler:actually Jon's former co-star on ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'', Creator/{{Egoraptor}}. This was two years after Jon abruptly left ''Game Grumps'', as many fans made several theories as to why he left by assuming the two weren't on good terms.]]
183[[/folder]]
184
185[[folder:Western Animation]]
186* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
187** One episode involves a rescue mission for Sokka's father Hakoda and girlfriend Suki. They also pick up a new character, Chit Sang. When Azula attacks the group in the next episode, Chit Sang is [[PutOnABus put on an airship]] with Hakoda, Haru, Teo, and The Duke and is the only one not to return at the end of the series finale.
188** See also the Earth King, who takes off on his own at the beginning of Season 3 and is never seen again. ''Presumably'' he comes back after Ba Sing Se is liberated, but he's never shown in the series, appearing only much later in the follow-up comics.
189** Also Hawkie, the messenger hawk Sokka buys while in the Fire Nation. Toph uses it to send a message to her parents and it's never seen again. Justified, since the cast is always [[WalkingTheEarth traveling]].
190* Brian's cousin, Jasper, and Jasper's boyfriend, Ricardo, have been subjected to this trope in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. Jasper appeared twice in a CutawayGag and then twice more in two episodes; the first one made Jasper and Ricardo a OneSceneWonder and their next appearance several seasons later sets up the plot over gay marriage in Quahog. Jasper is seen talking to Brian on Skype in "Brian's Play" but otherwise hasn't appeared since.
191* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/GIJoe'' had a third-party villain called the Gamemaster kidnap Flint, Lady Jae, the Baroness, and Cobra Commander, and put the four of them through a DeadlyGame set in his AmusementParkOfDoom on an island. The episode ended with the villain fleeing while the [[EnemyMine combined forces of both Joe and Cobra]] attacked the island, but while he swore revenge as he escaped, he never reappeared.
192* Amazo in ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' teleports himself away from Earth in the middle of a battle, after seeing the monster of the week absorb his attack and become more powerful for it. Though the foe is defeated mere minutes later, Amazo never returns. In the commentary, the creators stated that they wanted to add a gag at the end of the final episode (a year or whatever later) where [[OffscreenInertia Amazo is sitting on an asteroid somewhere wondering if it's okay to return to Earth yet]].
193* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' introduced a character named "Derek the Diesel" who suffered from "teething troubles." At the end of the episode he was sent off to have the "troubles" repaired, but aside from a cameo (from the back) during a music video in the special "Calling All Engines" he has not been seen since. Considering that his model was [[ShownTheirWork based on a locomotive design that really was that unreliable]] (details [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_17 here]]), it's entirely possible they're still not there yet.
194* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': "Predacons Rising" ends with Blackarachnia and Waspinator sent to an unknown region at the other end of a [[PortalNetwork Space Bridge]], with with Waspinator's final lines being "Waspinator has plans..." There were plans for their reappearance in a fourth season, but the show ended at three, so this is the last we see of them.
195[[/folder]]

Top