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4%% Trope was declared Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease via crowner by the Real Life Maintenance thread:
5%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=8g175gsq
6[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SamusGirl_3978.png]]]]
7[[caption-width-right:350:Samus's gender: a {{late arrival spoiler}} [[ItWasHisSled since 1986!]]]]
8
9->'''Kid Icarus:''' Gosh-a-cus, Princess Lana! [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Samus]] is super-duper-a-cus!\
10'''Lana:''' Well... Samus is a veteran of many impossible missions! Samus is a super-powered cyborg! Samus is the greatest space hunter in the Galactic Federation! ''[Samus removes her helmet]'' Samus is a... woman?!\
11'''Kevin:''' Whew! You sure are!
12-->-- ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' [[ComicBook/NintendoComicsSystem comic story]] "Money Changes Everything"
13
14Samus Is a Girl is when an ActionGirl is well established as heroic, or otherwise badass, before the first hint that she's female. Whether the initial lack of discernible sex is caused by bulky armor, baggy robes, [[WholesomeCrossdresser subtler deliberate deceptions]], shapeshifting, an appearance that could be confused for male at a distance or even just the camera refusing to give a clear shot of any distinctly female parts of her, it's still Samus Is a Girl. Heck, a tank with a chick inside would count. Having a TomboyishName or GenderBlenderName helps as well. In fact, you can expect this trope to happen pretty much every time you hear a gender-neutral name like "Alex" and it's not the name of an already established male character.
15
16Oftentimes, she will only wear the form-concealing outfit during her introduction. Afterwards, it may end up getting lost or destroyed, and thereafter she wears something a little less ambiguous. Sometimes, she just stops on her own.
17
18Perhaps nobody mentioned her gender because YouDidntAsk. Or because she's just one among a whole BadassArmy, so nobody paid attention specifically to her. Or because she's a complete stranger that nobody had seen before. Maybe she is a VoiceWithAnInternetConnection, and no one has ever seen her in person. (Audiences' disbelief that a woman could really be doing all these things may be bolstered by the fact that it often ''isn't'' in live-action productions, since CastAsAMask allows the use of male suit actors until the reveal scene.) This is notably harder to pull off in some languages. [[note]]Some languages don't use gender-neutral descriptors that much. It's one thing to say Samus is a bounty hunter in English, but in some languages -- like German, or all Latinate languages -- all words are inherently masculine or feminine, and Samus would have to be explicitly described as a "bounty huntress"; likewise, a male character would have to be talked about using clearly masculine word endings. Characters that ''do'' know about Samus' gender and just don't care to elaborate to the listener couldn't just call her a bounty hunter without stretching suspension of disbelief. It's one thing to trick the viewers by clever terminology, but when you completely break your language to do it, the effect becomes not so much "Hey, that's right, the gender was never actually mentioned!" as "Um, why have you been calling her a man this whole time?" Whether this works in Mandarin may even hinge on the medium; this is because Mandarin "he" and "she" are pronounced the same but written differently. Even the ''time period'' can make a difference, as "man" in English or "他" in Classical Chinese both used to be gender neutral, but is now explicitly masculine. But in other languages like Japanese and English, it is becoming more common to use the "masculine" or "gender-neutral" term when referring to women. For example, female comedians are almost never referred to as comediennes these days, and waiters and waitresses are often known as just servers.[[/note]]
19
20[[http://jabootu.net/?p=13 Jabootu]]'s glossary states how, in B-movies, the "Misleading Masculine Moniker Rule" occurs when the picture's hero learns of a character's GenderBlenderName, and is surprised to see that she is, in fact, female. Thus, such a moment often establishes her as his obligatory love interest.
21
22This trope is named after the protagonist of the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' video game series, which at the end of its [[VideoGame/Metroid1 debut game]] revealed that power-suited intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran was a woman the whole time.
23
24See TheFaceless and the {{Hackette}}, a SubTrope that relies on the myth that ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet (TheCracker in question being not only contradicting evidence, but better at it than they'd expect her gender to be). Contrast UnsettlingGenderReveal (where characters/some audience members are physically/romantically attracted to this person in their mistaken gender), SweetPollyOliver (Samus Is a Girl from a viewpoint that already knows she's female), ViewerGenderConfusion (where the audience, not the characters, don't know what gender Pat is) and SupernaturallyValidatedTransPerson (where the story reenforces a character's gender rather than using it as a twist). See also GeekyTurnOn, which is sometimes related to this. FemaleMonsterSurprise is a similar trope, but with a monster. May involve GenderConcealingWriting. Not AlwaysFemale, but usually, due to the typical gender roles where everyone assumes the action hero is a dude; the cast being composed of Amazons is one example where this may be reversed. Also see YourTomcatIsPregnant for when pet-owners make incorrect assumptions about their pets.
25
26'''Please, don't bother with the spoiler tags here. The name of this trope is a pretty good reason why this should be.'''
27----
28!!Sub-pages:
29[[index]]
30* SamusIsAGirl/AnimeAndManga
31* [[SamusIsAGirl/LiveActionFilms Film — Live-Action]]
32* SamusIsAGirl/{{Literature}}
33* SamusIsAGirl/LiveActionTV
34* SamusIsAGirl/VideoGames
35* SamusIsAGirl/WesternAnimation
36[[/index]]
37
38!!Other examples:
39[[foldercontrol]]
40
41[[folder:Trope Namer]]
42[[AC: Canon Examples]]
43* Named for Samus Aran from ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}''. The instructional manual for the [[VideoGame/Metroid1 first game]], as well as a number of tie-in material and magazine ads, refers to Samus as being male, though also allude to the player learning a secret about them if you can beat the game fast enough. The secret, of course, being that Samus is actually a young woman. You could find this out if you beat the game under five hours, at which point she takes off her helmet, but her identity is made far more clear when you beat the game under three hours, with the ending showing her take off her PoweredArmor entirely to proudly stand in her leotard and boots (which also unlocks a NewGamePlus where you can play using this form). If that wasn't enough, then beating the game in an hour nets you Samus in a bikini.
44* Almost every installment afterwards has similar endings where you see her outside of her PoweredArmor, but are also [[LateArrivalSpoiler pretty open with communicating that Samus is a woman]] during gameplay itself:
45** ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'' doesn't allude to Samus' gender at all in the game itself outside the best ending, but the [[AllThereInTheManual manual now refers to Samus as a "she"]].
46** The death sequences in every non-''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'' entry sans ''Return of Samus'' has her armor shattering and giving you a brief glance of her form underneath.
47** ''Super Metroid'' has a hidden technique called the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5j7ddcBlQI "Crystal Flash,"]] that allows Samus to completely restore her health at low energy if she has an ample supply of ammo. When activated, a nude Samus starts floating in a sphere of energy for a few seconds.
48** The 2004 remake of ''Metroid 1'', ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'', gives the player [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVBswOx1giI a quick glance at her eyes]] at the start of the game. In addition, the remake adds a {{playable epilogue}} where most of it is spent as Samus outside of her armor in a lengthy StealthBasedMission.
49** The ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'' was the start of her armor being designed to more subtly allude to her feminine figure. Beyond that, the player can sometimes see her eyes reflected through her visor. The Space Pirates also describe her as a female in their log entries. ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' even shows her as a woman at the ''start'' of the game.
50** ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' not only shows Samus without her suit in the opening sequence, but many cutscenes do so as well (both in flashback and present day); the post-game also ends with the player doing the traditional escape sequence while wearing the Zero Suit.
51** ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' has ADAM refer to Samus with the nickname "Lady" early on, she briefly speaks Chozo to another character partway through the game, cutscenes regularly showcase her eyes through her visor, and the ending has [[spoiler:the FinalBoss refer to her as his daughter]].
52
53[[AC:Advertising Examples]]
54* American ''Metroid'' commercials avoided referring to Samus by pronouns for years. It wasn't until ''Zero Mission'' that Samus' gender would [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqxuR1kQu2w finally be stated in ads.]]
55** Meanwhile, Europe and Japan freely disclosed Samus' gender in [[https://preview.redd.it/vqmw407lc0c41.jpg?auto=webp&s=28284f8bd214f2e1d081286506b17393c53c7c88 print ads]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMUw6EiQOgQ TV commercials]] starting with ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''.
56* Nintendo of America ran a ''Metroid'' art contest in their magazine "Nintendo Fun Club News" (a precursor to ''Magazine/NintendoPower''), with the winning entries being shown in the sixth issue. All the chosen pieces that had Samus unmasked [[http://gamingsanctuary.com/NintendoClub002.jpg depicted her as a man]], though it's possible the judges deliberately chose entries with a male Samus in order to keep the twist a secret.
57
58[[AC: Spinoff and Crossover Examples]]
59* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'':
60** In ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee Melee]]'', one of the events is called "Girl Power" and has you fight Samus alongside [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]] and [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Peach]]. However, the manual does not refer to Samus as a woman, and her first trophy avoids using pronouns.
61** From ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Brawl]]'' onwards, Samus can be played in her Zero Suit form (appropriately titled Zero Suit Samus).
62** In ''Brawl'', if the player fights Samus as [[VideoGame/MetalGear Solid Snake]] on Shadow Moses Island, Snake remarks to Otacon that he's fighting "a woman in a power suit." Otacon is baffled as to how Snake can possibly know she's a woman. Snake figured it out by [[MythologyGag watching how she walks]] [[MaleGaze and checking out the anatomy involved]].
63* In the ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' comics in the ''ComicBook/NintendoComicsSystem'', Samus was a regular character, and in her first appearance, it surprised the regulars from the cartoon when she unmasked for the first time. [[http://cnn.captainn.net/scans/cn1-16.jpg The scene in question is quoted above.]]
64* ''Manga/MetroidSamusAndJoey'' paints Samus as the mercenary equivalent of a ReclusiveArtist. Even InUniverse most people think that Samus is a man, and [[YouDidntAsk Samus doesn't bother to correct them]]. Mostly because she's [[IWorkAlone a lone wolf]] who HatesSmallTalk and doesn't really care what people think of her as long as they keep giving her work, though it's also implied she might be encouraging [[ShroudedInMyth some of the crazier rumours]] so that people won't recognize her when she's off-duty. Joey manages to go on multiple adventures with Samus [[DramaticIrony without realising she's a woman]], even thinking of her as a ''surrogate father'', until she removes her suit in front of him before they part ways at the end of the final chapter.
65
66[[AC: Fan Work Examples]]
67* In Creator/MontyOum's ''WebAnimation/{{Haloid}}'' (a crossover with ''Franchise/{{Halo}}''), this applies to both halves of the crossover. The character assumed to be Master Chief is actually Nicole-458, a female Spartan who appeared in the ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' games. She ends up pulling this trope on Samus herself, making ''Haloid'' a double whammy.
68* In the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}''[=/=]''Literature/{{Worm}}'' play-by-post game ''Roleplay/HatchlingQuest'', PRT's Head of Image brings this up when [[http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/hatchling-quest-worm-metroid.22540/page-19 he remarks that Samus could easily pass for a boy while wearing her Power Armor]]. This trope befittingly becomes something of a RunningGag throughout the story: Samus keeps a SecretIdentity, and even though it's been publicly stated she is a girl from another universe, there are many people who nonetheless think [[CassandraTruth even that is a cover-up]] and that she's either a boy or a robot. Even those who accept the official explanation are still surprised to find there's a blond, teenage girl under the power armor.
69* Due to a combination of this trope and ProtagonistTitleFallacy, one recurring [[MemeticMutation meme]] about the ''Metroid'' series has fans refer to Samus in and out of her armour as two different people: the male hero Metroid and his girlfriend Samus.
70* In [[http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/comic/268-authorization/ this]] ''Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily'' strip parodying the controversial authorization system from ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', Samus repeatedly gets into difficult situations which could easily be solved with her heavy equipment, but Adam refuses to authorize their use. Finally, an enraged Samus snaps and removes her helmet [[spoiler:to reveal that ''Adam'' has been in the armor the entire time, and Samus has been on the comms, inverting the trope]].
71* Parodied in the Music/StarBomb song "Regretroid", where Samus gets increasingly pissed that all her enemies go from treating her like an adversary to flirting with her once they learn the truth.
72* One of the stories in the ''Metroid'' anthology fanfic "See You Next Mission" involves this. [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2391151/8/See-You-Next-Mission The second half of a two-parter]] has a fellow bounty hunter that Samus recently teamed-up with be [[ImpossiblyCoolClothes jealous of the Varia Suit]] and desiring to steal it for himself. He catches Samus off-guard while she's lounging around in her ship and manages to get away with the armor, but assumes the woman he just knocked unconscious was a prostitute that Samus bought the services of. Then when Samus naturally starts hunting for him, he "realizes" that the woman was really Samus Aran's lover and that he's probably waiting nearby; he doesn't learn the truth until he sees Samus wearing the suit (sans helmet) moments before he dies.
73[[/folder]]
74
75[[folder:Advertising]]
76* The infamous [[spoiler:"[=TheLegend27=]"]] from ''VideoGame/GameOfWarFireAge'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCiDfm9i9rQ ads]].
77* Used in a Finnish ad for the army, where paratroopers are making a training landing in a forest and ''It's Raining Men'' plays. The song cuts when the troopers remove their helmets, revealing that they are all women.
78* Commercial for a high-grade beer shows the hands of the brewmaster at work, as the narrator praises the skill of those hands. At the end, the narrator says that they're focusing on the brewmaster's hands because she's not a particularly-attractive woman.
79* In a 2016 Campbell's Soup ad, a child is playing around a house in a Spider-Man costume. Before taking a sip of the soup, the child takes off the mask to reveal that she's a girl.
80* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmT74EgWNdE In this Red Bull ad,]] the biker is a woman. And deaf.
81* There's [[https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wT2y/jpmorgan-chase-going-to-mars-song-by-norman-greenbaum an ad]] for Chase banks with a couple walking through the airport with their child, who is wearing a full spacesuit. When they get to boarding, one of the attendants comments on the little astronaut wannabe, [[CompressedHair who takes off her helmet.]] The final scene shows her playing with her toy rocketship on the beach, wearing the helmet again with a bathing suit.
82* A 1988 Super VHS demo tape called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UdsrXXgjU0 The Tropic of Capricorn]] begins with a man driving to his vacation resort somewhere in Australia-only to be cut off by a motorcyclist who's face is concealed by their helmet. The man arrives safely at his hotel only to learn that the biker who blindsided him is also staying there-and then said biker walks out and reveals herself as a woman before heading back on the road. To a nearby beach. Wherein the trope subverts itself as the rest of the tape focuses on the woman and one of her friends enjoying a prototypical beach/pool day and it's not until ''the last 10 seconds of the video'' before she's finally back on the motorbike.
83* Shiseido had two ads utilising this trope, the former being a {{Bishonen}} example and the latter being a {{Bifauxnen}} example:
84** In 2015, an ad titled "[[https://youtu.be/5n3Db6pMQ-8 High School Girl? (The Secret of High School Girls)]]", all of the female characters are revealed to be male when their makeup is removed in the end.
85** In 2018, a SpiritualSuccessor titled "[[https://youtu.be/dPhxC6YzAvo The Party Bus - I can't tell you that I love you]]", a young woman cosplaying as Princess Kaguya at a Halloween party in a bus struggles to choose between two suitors, one of whom is cosplaying as Dracula and another is cosplaying as a zombie samurai before leaving the bus to follow the latter who then removes the skull mask and is revealed to be female.
86[[/folder]]
87
88[[folder:Comic Books]]
89* One of the regular supporting heroes in Paul Grist's ''ComicBook/JackStaff'' is Tom Tom the Robot Man, a towering, super-strong robot with the power of flight. It's a genuinely bizarre and unexpected moment when it's discovered that "he" is effectively a suit of powered armour being piloted by a disabled girl genius to fight crime.
90* In the one-shot crossover ''ComicBook/SpiderMan vs. ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'', both heroes are on the trail of Wolverine's former partner, named "Charlie", which is given as being short for: "Charlemagne". When Wolverine finally catches up with Charlie, the rogue agent is revealed to be a "she". Wolverine naturally knew all along, but Spidey, as well as the READER were kept in the dark by clever avoidance of gender-specific pronouns (not to mention a flashback where "Charlie" is deliberately shown in gender-neutral disguise). It's implied that Charlemagne uses the ambiguous nature of her name as an additional cover to her identity.
91* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
92** [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]]'s primary love interest Lilandra is introduced in a running subplot in which he is having ominous visions of space battles and a menacing armored figure. When the figure finally shows up and takes off its helmet, it isn't quite what he is expecting.
93** It was frequently implied and later confirmed in ''ComicBook/ImmortalXMen'' that Destiny didn't just share her real name with ''Literature/SherlockHolmes''[='=]s Irene Adler, but actually was Irene herself. While this ''isn't'' an example of it, what's tied to it is: it was also implied and later confirmed that Holmes "himself" was, in fact, [[Characters/MarvelComicsMystique Mystique]], Destiny's lover.
94* The original Ronin in ''ComicBook/NewAvengers'' turned out to be [[Characters/MarvelComicsMattMurdock Daredevil]]'s love interest Echo (after a minor RedHerring that it was DD himself).
95%% * Julie-Su from ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics''.
96* An early arc of ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'''s comic involved an up-an-coming crime boss in Madripoor called Tyger-Tiger challenging Roche's hold on the nation's underworld. Roche had no idea who Tyger-Tiger was, and in one part, believed it was a male rival. In truth, Tyger-Tiger was [[DarkActionGirl Jessan Hoan]], and as a result, her final assault on him came as complete surprise.
97* ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'':
98** [[spoiler:Mindf**k]] is a dramatic example, as eventually revealed to Emp; [[spoiler:Mindf**k]] and [[spoiler:Sistah Spooky]] are ex-lovers, whose first meeting (without a Samus Is A Girl scene) was shown in flashback the following volume.
99** The supervillain [[spoiler:Deathmonger]] was eventually revealed to be a woman under her mask.
100* [[spoiler:Junior, who is assumed to be Ragdoll's brother or father]] in ''ComicBook/SecretSix'', turns out to be his [[spoiler:sister]].
101* Sasquatch from ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'' is ''usually'' male in the main continuity.
102** In the [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate Universe]], when the team returns to base after fighting the X-Men, Sasquatch resumes human form and turns out to be the very female Rahne Sinclair, who in the main Franchise/MarvelUniverse is the werewolf Wolfsbane. There were some hints to this beforehand though; readers may have wondered why "he" had [[TertiarySexualCharacteristics ribbons]] in "his" hair in Sasquatch form.
103** Sasquatch from ''The Exiles'' is female. First going into human form, she says, "What surprises you more, that I'm a woman or that I'm black?"
104* Shining Knight, from Creator/GrantMorrison's ''ComicBook/SevenSoldiers'', is revealed to be a girl at the end of her portion of the series.
105* Colonel Randall in Dark Horse's early ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' comics is introduced as a gritty soldier in combat fatigues and a face-obscuring helmet, and only referred to as 'the Colonel'. This is really only to build up to the money shot, where, after having stripped down to go through Skynet's time machine, Colonel ''Mary'' Randall blows away a terminator and is shown to be... a hot nekkid babe! Needless to say, on arriving in the 20th century she starts wearing tight minidresses.
106* ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'':
107** Death's name is mentioned well before we see her. Gaiman intended for most readers to assume Death of the Endless would be male and menacing ... until we saw her.
108** In-character example, the serial killers are amazed to discover that the infamous Dog Soup is a woman.
109* ''ComicBook/TheSurrogates'' features a setting where normal people no longer interact with each other in person, but instead use a [[UnusualUserInterface humanoid robot]] as a proxy. As a result, cross-gender surrogates are common. One of the first surrogates we see is a cross-gender surrogate, and the male CorruptCorporateExecutive is revealed to actually be a woman. Both of them masqueraded as a person of the opposite gender to get ahead in their respective fields.
110* ''ComicBook/BatmanGordonOfGotham:'' Officer Bell, the mysterious undercover cop who infiltrates Manklin's gang, turns out to be Manklin's {{Moll}} Pamela.
111* In ''ComicBook/Camelot3000'', Merlin sends Tom to a wedding to awaken the memories of a reincarnated Round Table knight. The homing-amulet he's carrying leads him to the couple at the altar. Tom assumes it's the groom he's looking for, but it's [[GenderBender actually the bride]] whom Sir Tristan has been reborn as. Of course, the now awoken Tristan fully identifies as a man and draws a great deal of angst from it.
112-->'''Tristan:''' My name is Tristan. '''Sir''' Tristan.
113* Taz in the ''ComicBook/AtariForce'' second series was referred to as being male up until Morphea discovered [[spoiler:Taz not only was actually female, she was {{pregnant|Badass}}]].
114* In ''ComicBook/ScudTheDisposableAssassin'', Sussudio is introduced this way. [[spoiler:Naturally, she later becomes Scud's love interest.]]
115* In DC's 1980s comics series ''ComicBook/ArakSonOfThunder'', the character of Valda is introduced in full plate armor. Arak doesn't find out her sex until he removes her helmet. Unfortunately, the cover spoils the surprise by showing her wearing her standard mail byrnie and no helmet.
116* "The Trouble With Air", the cover story of an issue of DC's horror anthology series ''Unexpected'', has an astronaut saved from a lonely death on Pluto by the, well, ''unexpected'' action of some friendly native blobs. In the very last panel, after returning to the lander, the astronaut removes their helmet - allowing ''her'' curly hair to fall to the shoulders of her spacesuit.
117* Johnathan Hickman's ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' run introduced ComicBook/IronMan 3030, a futuristic LegacyCharacter. The bulk of the character's debut issue deliberately leaves their gender ambiguous, only for the final few pages to reveal that Iron Man 3030 is actually Tony Stark's [[AffirmativeActionLegacy mixed-race granddaughter]], Rhodey.
118* The Belgian comic ''ComicBook/LamentOfTheLostMoors'' takes this even further with the [[http://lelitoulalu.blogs.lindependant.com/media/00/01/1044022232.jpg Guinea Lord]], a terrifyingly badass BlackKnight, by making him (well, her) the crippled daughter of a powerful sorceress, the armor itself giving hellish strength and endurance to the wearer.
119* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'':
120** The [[CopKiller Hangman]] from the miniseries ''ComicBook/DarkVictory'' turned out to be [[TheDon Carmine Falcone]]'s daughter, Sofia Falcone, ObfuscatingDisability and seeking revenge against Two-Face and everyone who helped pre-Two-Face Harvey Dent's rise as District Attorney (as Dent's first act as Two-Face is to kill her father).
121** ''Detective Comics'' #1000 sees the debut of a version of [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight the Arkham Knight]] and WordOfGod already confirmed it wouldn't be [[Characters/BatmanJasonTodd the same person from the game]]. Three issues later, this version of the Knight turned out to be Jeremiah Arkham's daughter, Astrid.
122** ''ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison'' had the Absence, which gets {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by Dick!Bats.
123--->"If this were the old days I'd raise an eyebrow and say 'It's a woman!' As it stands--I'm just amazed she could fool me about that even for a minute."
124** In the newspaper comic strip "The Joker Vs the Sparrow", the Joker declares war on a mysterious crime boss named the Sparrow. While escaping from Batman, he's assisted by a beautiful blonde woman - who happens to be the Sparrow.
125* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' #145 (from 1976) introduces a hired killer known only as [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Assassin]], who wears a bulky armored costume with a full hood. In issue #146, the Assassin's hood gets knocked off to reveal that she's a woman. She then proceeds to lecture Hawkeye for being surprised by her gender, considering the number of {{Action Girl}}s on his own team.
126* The nameless rope-walker in Brandoli and Queirolo's ''Alias''. Nobody catches on until she comes on to the hero at the very end.
127* In ''ComicBook/TheHaloGraphicNovel'' story ''Armor Testing'', Spartan-II Maria-062 isn't revealed to be female until the very end, after she takes off her helmet and her commanding officer finally refers to her by name.
128* ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheCapedCrusader''. In [[Characters/CatwomanSelinaKyle Selina Kyle]]'s story of how she first met Batman, she's wearing a [[CheapCostume fullface cat mask and flowing cape]] instead of the familiar slinky catsuit. So Batman gets a surprise when her mask comes off during their struggle.
129-->'''Batman:''' But you're...[[FoeRomanceSubtext beautif--]] ''(gets slashed by FemmeFatalons)'' OW!
130* The 1953 Creator/ECComics story "Judgment Day", although [[spoiler:the example is racial rather than sexual]]. The planet the story takes place on is populated by orange and blue robots. They are identical but for outer casings and programming, [[FantasticRacism but the blue robots sit at the back of the bus, recharge in different stations, live in their own sector in town]]. The human evaluating the robot society does not let them progress to space until they can get over that, noting that Earth was like this once, and only owned the universe after humans learned to live together. In the last panel of the story [[spoiler:he takes off his helmet, revealing that he is black]]. UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode Authority even tried to have the revelation removed from the story prior to publishing, but the publishers fought them, and they backed down, although it was a PyrrhicVictory for EC Comics, which were eventually harassed into shutting down.
131* ''ComicBook/{{Thunderstrike}}'': Eric battles the villain Bloodaxe, and then finds out it's really his girlfriend, Jackie.
132* In ''ComicBook/BigBangComics'' #10, Galahad is hunting an assassin named Headhunter. Having learned that Headhunter will be in a certain hotel room, he crashes in through the window and surprises a couple in bed. He tells the woman to flee and gets in a fight with the man. When the man doesn't recognise the name of one of his victims, Galahad realises he has made a mistake and that Headhunter isn't the man, but rather the woman. Just as he comes to this realisation, the now-clothed Headhunter re-enters the room and fires an arrow at him. The man is actually a local crimeboss who was to be her next target.
133* In ''ComicBook/TheGreatPhantomPeril'', Characters/{{Superman|TheCharacter}} assumes the strange and super-powerful spectral figure unleashing chaos all over Metropolis is a male being until the mists surrounding the "ghost" vanish and Superman discovers said "ghost" is a woman.
134* The second part of a two-part reveal in ''ComicBook/SupermanAndBatmanGenerations 3'' #3 -- the first is that the character we've been assuming is ComicBook/{{Kamandi}} is actually his child. But when Batman uses the word "son", Kamandi is baffled, at which point we finally see what Kam looks like without her PostApunkalypticArmor, or her hair and goggles hiding her face.
135* ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'': The fourth member of the League of Evil Exes is actually a girl that Ramona dated during a bi-curious phase in college. Up until that point Scott and the readers were led to assume all of Ramona's exes were boyfriends, and it takes Ramona all but spelling it out until Scott catches on ([[GirlOnGirlIsHot much to his delight]]). It's lampshaded with the BossSubtitles panel.
136-->'''ROXANNE RICHTER: The 4th evil ex-boyfriend'''\
137'''Roxanne:''' [[MediumAwareness I am not a boy!]]
138* ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'': The enigmatic Hooded One turns out to not only be a woman, but is in fact Grandma Ben's long-lost older sister. Not even the Hooded One's own minions were aware of their leader's true gender or identity. Although admittedly, that might have to do with the fact she was long thought to have been dead ([[RevenantZombie which she is]]).
139* In ''Marvel Team-Up'' #100, Spider-Man finds himself getting controlled by a mysterious someone with the ability to remotely possess people. Halfway through, it turns out this someone is a Vietnamese girl (and she's not evil, just desperate). She goes on to become Karma of the ComicBook/NewMutants.
140* ''ComicBook/DCLoveIsABattlefield'': When Blue Snowman is unmasked Steve is surprised to see a person he assumes is a woman. Byrna Brilyant is non-binary, and the Snowman part ties into their gender presentation.
141[[/folder]]
142
143[[folder:Comic Strips]]
144* In an old [[TheThirties 1933]] story arc in ''ComicStrip/ThimbleTheater'',[[note]]The original ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' comic[[/note]] Popeye the Sailor must battle [[WickedWitch The Sea Hag]] and her [[TheHeavy gigantic minion]] known as a "Goon" [[note]]A race of InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals who are powerfully-built [[https://i.ibb.co/YXvvRmP/Alice-Goon1.png bald giants]] with hairy forelimbs with noses like Proboscis monkeys[[/note]]. Popeye is utterly [[WouldntHitAGirl besides himself]] when the minion is revealed, mid-brawl as a woman named "Alice" and that she's both [[MonsterIsAMommy a mother]] and that she (and her people) are also [[ForcedIntoEvil enslaved]] by the Sea Hag. "Alice The Goon" would [[https://i.ibb.co/ctcDk3M/Alice-Goon2.png eventually don a dress]] and become one of Popeyes best friends and allies [[https://i.ibb.co/qFt6Nhd/Alice-Goon3.png and even join]] The U.S. Army with Olive Oyl in a [[TheEighties 1980s]] [[SaturdayMorningCartoon Saturday Morning]] cartoon show.
145* In ''ComicStrip/FunkyWinkerbean'', The Eliminator was an EnfantTerrible arcade gamer of such skill, he could make a Defender machine tilt like a pinball game. His face was always covered by a visored helmet (a ShoutOut to Darth Vader, as ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' was THE hot movie at the time of his debut). Midway through the first TimeSkip, the grown-up Eliminator was reintroduced... as Donna, a hot blond woman. She eventually ended up dating and marrying Crazy Harry, who'd considered The Eliminator his nemesis back in high school.
146* In ''ComicStrip/MotherGooseAndGrimm'', Grimm was shocked to learn that his hero, the star of the TV show ''Karl the Wonder Poodle'', was a female poodle named Karla.
147* ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' had a whole arc devoted to this. It started when Budweiser mascot Spuds [=MacKenzie=] visited Opus and told him that most animals who appeared in the media who were "billed" as male were actually females - including Spuds. He - or rather she - then claimed this was also true for one of the animal characters in ''Bloom County'', but then fell into a drunken slumber, which Opus predicted she wouldn't wake up from until "that last comment has caused total pandemonium around here". Indeed, the animal characters launched their own investigations (Portnoy quickly finding out that "cartoon characters aren't anatomically correct") even going so far as to use a JackBauerInterrogationTechnique on Bill the Cat, until Opus finally discovered it was Rosebud the Bassalope. From that point on, she was referred to by her true gender.
148[[/folder]]
149
150[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
151* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': In a late chapter Shinji, Asuka and the rest of the cast seize an enemy fleet. Misato was wearing a PoweredArmor during the battle, and the admiral of the fleet got shocked when she removed her helmet’s faceplate and revealed that she was a woman:
152-->''He blinked in surprise to see the smiling woman revealed by the now transparent helmet.''
153* ''Fanfic/BatmanBeyondRevisited'': Poetic license at its finest; not only does [[spoiler:Payback]] turn out to be a girl, she’s also [[spoiler:Jake’s mother.]]
154* Saved for the end and {{exaggerated|Trope}} in "Fanfic/{{Frostbite}}", with the entire rest of the fic having used male pronouns for Breen [[TheCaptain Dalsh]] Ruul. When Dul'krah removes Ruul's helmet, it turns out she's not only female, but ''human''.
155* In ''Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}}: Ghost in the Shell'', Tom assumes that the mysterious morphing serial killer is male until she thought-speaks to him during their aerial battle. It turns out she's a recurring [[TropaholicsAnonymous Matter Over Mind]] attendee named Margaret White.
156* In the ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' short fan film ''Film/JudgeMinty'', Minty kills a masked gang member in the Cursed Earth, only to find out to his dismay that it was a girl of about 20.
157* Happens in the ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'' during the Wedding Arc when a trio of guards that helped [[HeroOfAnotherStory Misfit Actual]] named Weaver, Diver, and Bombardier are revealed to be Changelings. As it turns out, Bombardier is a female Changeling assuming a male form because of Changeling BlueAndOrangeMorality. Changelings simply have a different concept of sex and gender than ponies and she simply preferred having a male alternate form. She mentions this made finding a lover a bit difficult.
158* ''Fanfic/TheEquestrianWindMage'': Fluttershy reveals that Volvagia the lava dragon is female, much to Vaati's shock.
159* In ''Fanfic/IncarnationOfLegends'', Bell is initially unsure of the Radiance's gender, as aside from the blue skirt-like cloth near the bottom, her figure and face were obscured by her armor and helmet. It takes Kojiro splitting that helmet in two to reveal her true gender as well as her identity as [[spoiler:Artoria Pendragon]].
160* ''Fanfic/FairyWithoutWings'': [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Dark Blade]] the Knight of Seven of the Edolas Knights of the Round is a true and tried BlackKnight and the epitome of DarkIsEvil. Claims that the person they are is dead inside and only so many people know this swordsman's identity. Totally, Edolas Lelouch, right? [[spoiler:[[{{Fauxshadowing}} Wrong!]] [[WhamEpisode It's Nunnally]]]].
161* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/4034221 Meeting Someone New]]'', a ''Film/TheHobbit'' fanfic on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, new settlers come to Erebor, and Kíli hates one of them, a brave warrior, at first sight, because he's everything Kíli is not. When the stranger starts to court Kíli, hate turns to love. When the other dwarf reveals that she is a woman, Kíli is surprised, but not shocked. As all dwarves have beards, no helmet is required for the misunderstanding to happen.
162* In ''Fanfic/AshesOfThePast'', Ash's Pidgeot turns out to be female [[BerserkButton and does not like being mistaken for male]].
163* In ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', directly inspired by the above: Ash has this reaction with his Pidgeotto, and later with Roggenrola. The latter was a notable case given that he was certain of the gender of all of his Unovan mons.
164* In the ''Film/{{Brightburn}}'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13300152/1/Dies-the-Fire Dies the Fire]]'', after fifteen years conquering the world, Brandon is lured back to Brightburn and confronted by a warrior in a suit of armour. The full-body suit and modulated voice lead Brandon to assume the warrior is male, and it's only after his opponent has revealed their access to grenades based on the radiation generated by Brandon's ship that he does enough damage to the suit to realise that his opponent is female, and he only identifies her as his old crush, Caitlyn Connors, after she's done enough damage that he's begging for his life.
165* In ''Fanfic/WonderfulMazinja'', no one knew that Wonder Red was a girl until she revealed herself.
166* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/296345/beware-the-equalizer/ Beware the Equalizer]]'', the titular character wearing PoweredArmor and a CoolHelmet and wielding a MagicStaff is revealed to be none other than [[spoiler:Starlight Glimmer]].
167* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Ladder}}'', the SerialKiller known as "the Harvester" is out killing criminals. She's referred to as male however eventually she is revealed to be female. She is [[spoiler:Bubbles]].
168* Part of ''[[Creator/DetsniyOffSkiword Profesor Layton Vs Jack The Raper]]'''s big reveal is that Jack The Raper is a female.
169* Averted [[spoiler:and later invoked]] in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11772125/1/Metroid-Kamen-Rider-Generations-Full-Series Metroid: Kamen Rider Generations]]''. After subsequent encounters with different Riders, most Franchise/KamenRider characters are fully aware of Samus's existence.
170* In ''Fanfic/TheElementsOfFriendship'', both Celestia's bodyguard Paper Mache and Pinkie's sister Maud are mistaken for stallions when first introduced.
171* In Chapter 2 of ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12213237/1/Metroid-Kamen-Rider-Generations-Vol-2-Ex-Aid-Era-feat-Cross-Ange Metroid: Kamen Rider Generations Vol. 2 -- Ex-Aid Era feat. Cross Ange,]]'' the second season to the aforementioned ''Metroid: Kamen Rider Generations''; [[Anime/CrossAnge Ange]] learns the hard way that Samus and the mysterious armored man who saved Tusk and Momoka are actually one and the same person. The fact after Samus sheds her armor in front of Ange, Tusk, and Momoka left them utterly speechless.
172* In ''FanFic/RobbReturns'', a short lived version appears when the "man" Brynden Tully meets on his way south ends up revealing herself as Brienne of Tarth a few moments later.
173* When Pikachu first pops up to rescue some gijinka in ''Webcomic/RocketMember'', she's wearing her hoodie up. Everyone mistakes her for a boy until her hoodie pops off while she's charging up her electricity, showing off her TomboyishPonytail.
174* The player character of the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' mod ''VideoGame/HalfLifeResidualLife'', Sora Kim, doesn't have her gender confirmed until the level 'Alter of Sacrifice' when the level boss refers to her as 'fresh female'.
175* In ''Fanfic/TheMoreThingsChange'', Ryoga believes the person whom he is fighting is a man until he cuts Tanya Noori's vest and spots her bra.
176-->He clearly saw that he'd managed to tag him with his belt/sword twice, once across the arm, and once across the chest....\
177<Why's he wearing a... A BRA?>\
178"YOU'RE A GIRL!!!"
179* In the ''Temeraire'' and ''Assassin's Creed'' crossover fanfic ''Fanfic/TradeWinds'', Desmond meets 11-year-old Emily Roland, Laurence's runner, for the first time and is surprised to find, after watching her for a little while, that she's a girl under her little jacket and trousers. When he tries asking her for her name, she just says, "Roland."
180* The [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] fic ''Fanfic/{{Dial}}'' introduces the Winter Guard, with the bulky power-armored Crimson Dynamo as part of the lineup. However, it's revealed later that this version of Crimson Dynamo is [[https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Galina_Nemirovsky_(Earth-616) Galina Nemirovsky.]]
181* ''Fanfic/TheKingNobodyWanted:'' One of Tytos's free-riders, an archer called Skinny Pate, is a disguised girl who ran away from an ArrangedMarriage with an elderly crofter.
182* ''Fanfic/AManOfIron'':
183** Speculated in-universe as one of the theories about Iron Man's secret identity. A few people, Arya included, are convinced that he's really an ActionGirl hiding her gender.
184** Syrio is revealed in the back half of Book 1 to actually be [[spoiler:Mystique in disguise]].
185** The first chapter of Book 3 reveals that the [[LegacyCharacter first]] Vulture King was in fact [[spoiler:a NotQuiteDead Rhaenys Targaryen]].
186* Catra immediately concludes that the General is a woman in ''Fanfic/SheRaInTheWake''.
187* In the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/31456490 The Artist's Garden at Madripoor]]'', Steve and Natasha go to [[Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier Madripoor]] in order to acquire the component they need for the [[Film/AvengersEndgame Quantum Tunnel]] from the [[JudgeJuryAndExecutioner Power Broker]]. Steve assumes that the Power Broker is male (which [[TheGadfly Natasha]] plays along with) and is shocked to discover that the Power Broker is [[FallenHero Sharon]] (whom Steve thought had disappeared during [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar The Snap]]).
188[[/folder]]
189
190[[folder:Film — Animation]]
191* Technically, the stitchpunks of ''WesternAnimation/{{Nine}}'' are sexless constructs. This trope is still invoked with 7, whose feminine voice isn't heard until after she has demonstrated her combat prowess.
192* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm,'' [[spoiler:the Phantasm kills several members of Gotham City's mafia. At first, all signs point to the Phantasm being Carl Beaumont, who owed the mafia money, but the Phantasm is later revealed to be Andrea Beaumont, Carl's daughter (and Bruce Wayne's {{Love Interest|s}})]].
193* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheLongHalloween'', the death of [[spoiler:Alberto Falcone]] completely takes away the the AmbiguousEnding of the original comic [[spoiler:which throws suspicion onto Gilda Dent, who is indeed revealed to be the Holiday Killer]].
194* One of the main villains of ''WesternAnimation/TheCondor'', Taipan, is revealed to be Tony's girlfriend Valeria who wanted to have "''some fun''" with him before she kills him. Helped by the voice distorter and masculine nature of her costume.
195* From ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'', before the soldiers take off their helmets:
196-->Hear that, Jane? [[ShoutOut She thinks]] [[Film/{{Aliens}} you're a man]].\
197I think she's an idiot.
198* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFlightOfDragons'', the [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits band of heroes]] is saved from a pack of thieves by a Robin Hood wannabe. When the knight in the group goes to thank the mysterious archer, "he" takes off "his" cap, and the audience is treated to a slow-motion shot of long, glistening red hair as it flows down below her waist. The knight is speechless.
199* ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'': The title character of the last story, Taarna, is summoned by the city's elders to fight the horde of evil invaders. The elders don't use any gender-specific words when speaking of the last of the Taarakians whom they're summoning, and when Taarna does arrive, she flies into the city on a pterodactyl-like steed wearing a hooded robe. Only when she lands in the city and dismounts her steed does Taarna reveal her gender by removing her hood (and shortly thereafter, [[FanService everything else]] to keep up the film's quota).
200* Valka in ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2''. Even though {{Action Girl}}s are perfectly common and accepted in the film's culture, her mask and armor conceal her shape and size completely, making it a surprise when she turns out to be a woman, helped by the fact that Hiccup and the viewer have been given reason to suspect she was the man, Drago, he had just heard about.
201* In ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'', [[spoiler:the Screenslaver, the primary antagonist of the film, is revealed to be tech genius Evelyn Deavor]].
202* In ''WesternAnimation/KuboAndTheTwoStrings'', Kubo's mother uses the last of her magic to bring to life his wooden monkey charm. Kubo had though of the charm as male, but Monkey turns out to be female [[spoiler:due to being inhabited by his mother's soul]].
203-->'''Kubo:''' I called that charm ''Mr.'' Monkey.\
204'''Monkey:''' And if I were alive at that point, I might've found that insulting.
205* [[DramaticIrony While the audience obviously knows]] WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}} is a girl, she manages to effectively [[SweetPollyOliver hide herself]] by wearing bulky armour, strapping her torso down, wearing her hair up and speaking in a deep voice (or trying to at least). InUniverse this reaction happens when “Ping” is discovered, and she's almost executed.
206* In ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots2011'', Puss's first meeting with Kitty Softpaws has him face her off in a DanceOff. When it ends, he's shocked when she removes her mask to reveal a feminine face and voice. Being a cat, she didn't need to do anything else to hide her gender (though she wasn't trying to keep it a secret).
207* Goblin minion Stuff in ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'' thought it was obvious that she was female. Her male coworker might just be that dumb.
208* ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'' has Kevin the Snipe in this. Russell's reaction to finding out Kevin is not a Kevin at all. Not only is Kevin a girl, she's also a mother.
209-->'''Russell:''' Kevin's a girl?
210* ''WesternAnimation/TheWarToEndAllWarsTheMovie'': During "Lady of the Dark", an Austrian soldier knocks [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milunka_Savic Milunka Savić's]] hat off and is astonished when the feminine long hair she'd kept tucked under it falls free.
211[[/folder]]
212
213[[folder:Manhwa]]
214* ''Manhwa/WitchHunter'' pulls this card with [[spoiler:Halloween, Tasha's pumpkin-headed marionette]] who is initially thought to be genderless due to [[spoiler:being a marionette]] and all that, but when [[spoiler:Tasha]] breaks [[spoiler:Halloween]]'s first seal, its true form is revealed to be [[http://download.minitokyo.net/Witch.Hunter.477596.jpg this.]] Tasha is, naturally, shocked.
215[[/folder]]
216
217[[folder:Music]]
218* The music video for Music/TheProdigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" is shown from the point of view of a person who goes to a bar, gets drunk, gets into a fight, and gropes women before returning home and passing out in front of a mirror, which reveals the person is a woman. It is speculated this trope was used to counter claims that [[UnfortunateImplications the song was misogynistic]].
219* The trance artist formerly known as Hybrid Factor was originally [[TheInvisibleBand pictured as]] Steve Bailey, but later revealed to be Aimee, his sister. She now goes by the artist name Aimee B.
220* Many promotional videos of the British Invasion band The Honeycombs attempted to hide the fact that their drummer, Honey Lantree, was female until some point later in the film clip (most notable is their performance of "Have I The Right?" in the 1965 concert film ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_Gear Pop Gear]]''. They then do the ''[[ViewersAreGoldfish same damn thing]]'' the next time they appear in the film, performing "Eyes")
221* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy6MpsDPKts music video]] for the Music/WithinTemptation[=/=]Music/{{Tarja}} song "Paradise" features a pair of survivors in a post-apocalyptic wasteland trying to restore life to the planet. In the end it's revealed they are both women.
222* "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" By Sophie B. Hawkins. The song is about a friend who is stuck in an abusive relationship, and how she both has feelings for them and wishes she could help them, making it seem like it's about a guy with an [[DomesticAbuse abusive girlfriend]], until near the end where she mentions she had a dream about them where she "Sat on a mountainside with peace of mind, And I lay by the ocean making love to '''her''' with visions clear." Apparently the song is based on real events as well, as Sophie is bisexual and had a female friend this was happening to. Whether they ever got together is unknown.
223* The video for Music/{{Bush}}'s "Machinehead" shows a motorcyclist riding around London. At the end, the motorcyclist reaches his destination and removes his helmet...to reveal that he is a she.
224* The video for Music/DaftPunk's "Derezzed" from ''Film/TronLegacy'' shows two characters dueling on the grid, one blue and one red. After the blue character is defeated, the red one removes her helmet to reveal that she's a woman, played by Creator/OliviaWilde. It's not clear if she's supposed to be her character Quora from the film.
225[[/folder]]
226
227[[folder:Pinball]]
228* In ''Pinball/CirqusVoltaire'', when you unmask Voltaire, not only is Voltaire revealed to be a woman, she is also the game's announcer.
229[[/folder]]
230
231[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
232* Shantelle Malawaski, best known for her work in various independents as Shantelle Taylor and in [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] as Wrestling/TaylorWilde, wrestled two house show (non-televised events) and one dark match (non-televised matches held before televised events/TV tapings) for Wrestling/{{WWE}} in January 2007 in a male disguise as [[FakeNationality a masked Japanese wrestler]] named Sensai, defeating male wrestler Jamie Noble each time. However, because these were non-televised events, thus they were not part of any kind of continuity, and because Malawaski was released before ever appearing on WWE TV under any name, it qualifies as an aversion.
233* In TNA, the Latin American Xchange was often helped in their matches against the Rock 'n' Rave Infection by a mysterious Latino in baggy gangsta attire with a bandanna covering "his" face whom the LAX only referred to as "a member of the Latino nation". This mystery "man" often attacked the Infection's valet, Wrestling/ChristyHemme, prompting her to repeatedly complain to on-air authority figure Wrestling/JimCornette about the "man-on-woman violence" going on. Of course, the mystery member of LAX later revealed herself as a Latina named Salinas, thus trouncing the Rock 'n' Rave Infection's claims.
234[[/folder]]
235
236[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
237* ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'':
238** There's a series of supplements called the Gazetteers, which featured a scholar known as S who traveled around the major domains of the setting and chronicled their cultures. Everyone assumed S was a man until Gazetteer III, which featured a throwaway line about S's struggles to manage the layers of corsets, skirts, and petticoats that one domain expected its citizens to wear. Even then, some fans continued to insist that S was a man (apparently more willing to believe the character to be a drag queen than a woman), and it wasn't until an actual illustration of her appeared in Gazetteer IV that the argument was put to rest.
239** [[SerialKiller The Midnight Slasher]] (an insane {{Expy}} of sorts of UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper) is assumed to be male, but is secretly a woman, driven insane after the murder of her parents at the hands of the domain lord of Invidia, Gabrielle Aderre. Most residents of Invidia assume the killer to be a man, never suspecting the disheveled beggar they see on the streets by day to be a cold-blooded killer by night; in fact, that's how she keeps the façade alive.
240* In the ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' card game, there's [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gravekeeper%27s_Assailant Gravekeeper's Assailant.]] There was never anything to suggest that the monster on the card was female until she appeared on ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' as a Duel Spirit, at which point it was obvious (even while still wearing the mask and cloak). The anime even gave her the name Sara (Yasmine in the dub version). (Of course, whether "Gravekeeper's Assailant" is a title that is unique to her is hard to tell.)
241* In one of the vignettes in ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Steam-Tech'', describing a new fad at UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}} for chivalric duelling with blunt swords (the relevant "tech" being applying 19th century metalsmithing to armour), a masked combatant who wins two out of three fights removes their helm to reveal "the well-known feminist agitator Miss Viola Dalrymple".
242[[/folder]]
243
244[[folder:Theatre]]
245* The title character in Ben Jonson's ''Epicene'' is revealed at the end to be a boy disguised as a girl. In this case, the twist is only possible because [[CrosscastRole all female roles were played by boys]] at the time the play was written. (It isn't staged much today.)
246* ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'': "[[spoiler:The Giant]]'s a woman!"
247* ''Theatre/MrsHawking'': The mysterious "Kingmaker", the most feared criminal mastermind in all of London, is actually the thrice-married Mrs. Frost. [[spoiler:She also happens to be Mrs. Hawking's teacher in the art of crimefighting and former companion.]]
248[[/folder]]
249
250[[folder:Visual Novels]]
251* Inverted in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''. LadyOfWar Saber is obviously a female knight, but it isn't until later on that we learn she is actually [[spoiler:the legendary Myth/KingArthur]], who used magic to disguise herself as a man because [[spoiler:[[DoubleStandard she felt that the British probably wouldn't obey a Queen]]]].
252** ''Roleplay/FateNuovoGuerra'' follows tradition and chocks one up with a certain Lancer from UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar, though it wasn't so much a disguise as it was "[[PoliticallyCorrectHistory sexist historians]]" who didn't like how a girl was getting all that booty and kicking all that ass.
253** The ''Fate'' series tend to do this quite a bit with some of the historical/mythical figures, most likely due the overwhelming success of Saber. Ironically, Nasu initially cringed at the idea of turning Saber female.
254** The spinoff novel ''Literature/FateApocrypha'' also reveals [[spoiler:Mordred]] to be female.
255* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
256** ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Justice for All]]'': Phoenix doesn't learn Manfred von Karma's child's gender until facing her in court. Later on in the same game, [[spoiler:Shelley de Killer incorrectly guesses that [[GenderBlenderName Adrian Andrews]] is a man, thus proving that he's never met her in person.]] Strangely, Phoenix refers to Adrian correctly as a "she" during the initial interview, despite having no information on her besides the fact that she was Matt Engarde's manager. This was most likely due to her name being very gender ambiguous, which plays a key role in the case and was something the writers intended.
257** In ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice Spirit of Justice]]'', [[spoiler:Armie Buff is a shut-in who could only communicate with an armed drone. She acts as a war general and talks in a scruffy masculine voice thanks to a voice filter. Naturally, when Armie revealed herself everyone in the courtroom is surprised to see the witness was a 12-year-old girl in a wheelchair]]. It's also {{inverted|Trope}} with [[spoiler:the vigilante rebel hunter styling themselves after the legendary Khura'inese female warrior Lady Kee'ra, who turns out to be a man]].
258* The penultimate battle in ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZeroIII'' is against [[spoiler:Leibniz]], who removes their helmet to reveal they are a woman.
259* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'':
260** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' has this ''twice'', [[spoiler:both villains]]:
261*** In Chapter 2, [[spoiler:the mysterious Genocider Syo, who has been referred to as "he", is revealed to be the SplitPersonality of Touko Fukawa, a female student]]. Made even more shocking in the English release, where [[spoiler:"he" was named Genocide Jack before TheReveal, and Genocide ''Jill'' afterwards]]. Chapter 2 also [[UnsettlingGenderReveal inverts]] this with [[spoiler:Chihiro Fujisaki, a boy disguised as a girl to avoid bullying]].
262*** In the final trial, it is revealed that [[spoiler:the mysterious masked “man” who attacks Makoto, who is also [[TheManBehindTheMan the person behind]] [[DiscOneFinalBoss the male robot bear Monokuma]], is the [[TheFashionista Ultimate Fashionista]], Junko Enoshima]].
263** ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'':
264*** Chapter 2 has [[spoiler:a subversion with [[SerialKillerKiller Sparkling Justice]], who is “revealed” to be Peko Pekoyama, before she admits she copycatted the real one (hinted to be the male [[Manga/KillerKiller Takumi Hijirihara]]) to hide her true motivations for murder]].
265*** In the final trial, [[spoiler:the Monokuma reveal [[HijackedByGanon is the same]], only this time it’s an {{AI|IsACrapshoot}} version of Junko; she also disguised herself as the male Makoto, the previous protagonist, earlier]].
266** ''VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls'' has [[spoiler:''both'' the feminine sounding Shirokuma and the more masculine-sounding wannabe-rapper Kurokuma [[TwoAliasesOneCharacter turn out to be Junko Enoshima]], [[OncePerEpisode who seems to love pulling this trick]]]].
267* ''VisualNovel/FleuretBlanc'' has Augustine Hatch Jr., FOIL's mechanic and electrician. [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname She is initially referred to as "Junior"]], and she only interacts with Florentine through a remote speaker for most of the story. Both the name and profession are coded male so Florentine assumes Junior is a man, leading to shock when Augustine shows up in person. This is also {{deconstruct|ion}}ed a little: her father wanted a son, not a daughter, and named her "Junior" before she was even born in the hopes she would continue the family line. When he discovered his offspring was a girl, he was livid. The resulting neglect and disappointment likely skewed her psychological development and perception of gender roles in an unhealthy way, and may have influenced her decision to enter such a male-coded field in the first place. However, this is also {{Reconstruction}} in that her father learned to love her anyway.
268* ''VisualNovel/HenchmanStory'' has Shining Nova, a superhero who wears a masculine-looking suit of PoweredArmor and uses a voice changer to disguise the fact that she's really a petite young woman. It's one of the many, ''many'' measures she takes to keep her secret identity under wraps.
269* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': For about most of the story, the enigmatic [[spoiler:BigBad deity Oyashiro-sama]] is considered to be male by just about everyone in the village- until the seventh arc reveals that [[spoiler:she is, in fact, CuteGhostGirl Hanyuu Furude. No one in Hinamizawa barring Rika knew the the god they worshipped was actually a goddess, most likely due to Oyashiro's legend becoming distorted over hundreds of years]]. And it was foreshadowed as early as the 1st novel [[spoiler:with Keiichi deducing that the breath on him was coming from a girl]]. In addition, [[spoiler:the actual villain, who used Hanyuu as a scapegoat/smokescreen, is herself a woman- local nurse Miyo Takano]].
270* ''VisualNovel/CodeRealize'' does this verbally. During Cardia's second confrontation with the Assailant in heavy armor, she's shocked to hear a woman's voice come underneath the armor. Her profile in the glossary notes that her name is [[spoiler:Guinevere (yes, ''[[Myth/ArthurianLegend that]]'' Guinevere)]] and she is very beautiful. When we see her face later, we learn that her profile wasn't kidding.
271* Chris from ''VisualNovel/PrincessWaltz'' is taken to be a man by the main character. Even despite many hints and on multiple occasions fusing together to become a woman, the main character doesn't realize that Chris is actually a girl until... well... Either way even the main character feels stupid for not getting the hint before.
272* ''VisualNovel/{{Sunrider}}'' has [[spoiler:a villainous example with [[BigBad Veniczar]] [[GalacticConqueror Arcadius]]]]. Most of the galaxy assumes her to be male, between her androgynous figure, masculine clothing, and [[spoiler:wearing a face-concealing mask that also alters her voice]]. It isn’t until the very end of the second part that she’s unmasked as a woman, though her gender ends up being the ''least'' surprising aspect of that revelation. As for why she does this, the sequel reveals that [[spoiler:the original Arcadius ''was'' a man, and the current Arcadius has been impersonating him ever since his death]].
273* ''VisualNovel/ZeroEscape'' has one per game:
274** ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'' sets up the possibility of a villainous example. The characters are kidnapped and forced to participate in a DeadlyGame by a mysterious masked person called Zero. Throughout most of the game, everyone refers to Zero as male, but eventually Clover brings up the possibility that Zero could be [[TheMole one of them]]- and since there are three females in the party, this could apply [[HiddenVillain if Zero is one of the three]]. [[spoiler:And she is- it’s ''Akane'', Junpei’s {{Love Interest|s}}.]]
275** In ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'', [[spoiler:Akane pulls this off ''again'' in the routes that she disguises herself as K. In other routes, K is Sigma’s clone]].
276** In ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'', Team Q brings up the Heart Ripper, a SerialKiller that rips out people’s hearts. The Ripper is referred to with male pronouns before TheReveal that [[spoiler:it’s Mira, ''who was right there with the others'' discussing ''herself'']].
277[[/folder]]
278
279[[folder:Web Animation]]
280* WordOfGod states that Flaky from ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' is, in fact, a girl.
281* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'':
282** Agent Texas is a bit of a subversion of the usual way this trope is carried out. She's outed as female a few episodes after her debut when her helmet's voice modulator shorts out, but since everyone in the series is always wearing PoweredArmor (because it's a ''Franchise/{{Halo}}''-based {{machinima}}), Tex is otherwise indistinguishable from the rest of the cast.
283** Zigzagged with the former Agent Connecticut. When first encountered in Season 7, CT appears male in all respects. By the following season, Washington reacts to CT's helmet with "what was she doing here?", and the flashback episodes in Season 9 show that indeed, the CT of Project Freelancer was a woman. Then Season 10 reveals that [[spoiler:the original CT was killed, and her boyfriend took up her armor to honor her]].
284* [[spoiler:Spriggs]] in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' {{machinima}} series ''Spriggs''.
285[[/folder]]
286
287[[folder:Webcomics]]
288* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Miko Miyazaki does this. For about eighty or so strips, she appears only as a blue-hooded figure, until she takes on the Order of the Stick, at which point she drops her hood and we see that yes, she is in fact female (and, [[InformedAttractiveness judging from Roy's reaction]], fairly attractive). Roy plays her Bob for a while, until he gets put off by her [[LawfulStupid personality]]. This wasn't that drastic, as she seemed more ambiguous than masculine prior to this -- insofar as she even seemed human at all.
289* ''Webcomic/TheWotch'': Also initially appearing as a hooded figure was [[spoiler:the previous Wotch]], Miranda West. Her initial appearance was in the very first story arc. Her reveal was at the end of the ''fifteenth''.
290* ''Webcomic/{{Inhuman}}'': [[spoiler:Ashido]] is shown to be an example of this when another character walks in on her changing.
291* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Peregrine Mendicant]]. The [[WordOfGod author]] never intended her to actually have a gender at all, but [[AscendedFanon gave in to fan speculation]].
292* ''Webcomic/{{Jix}}'':
293** Pratos the Bounty ends up being both a female Ambis named Aranis and Jix's cousin. A possible nod to Samus Aran.
294** Jix was thought to be male until her brother Romulos revealed her true identity (it's hard to tell what gender a small furry alien is unless you are able to see anything).
295* ''Webcomic/AModestDestiny'':
296** [[spoiler:Shadow]] spends a good amount of time in the comics as this until an incident where Maxim [[ThanksForTheMammaries grabbed her breast]], and it's not shown who she is until much later.
297** When the previously killed [[TheAce Crimson Blade]] shows up at [[FluffyTheTerrible the Vampire Lord Fluffy's]] castle, Fluffy's bat familiar flies of with the helmet, revealing that the new Crimson Blade is a girl. Expecting this trope, Fluffy immediately tries to hit on her, but actually fails miserably.
298* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': The interim comic ''City Face 2'' introduces a magpie named Bobeyes. In a bit of PaintingTheMedium, the ShoutBox below the comic features [[http://gunnerkrigg.wikia.com/wiki/City_Face_2_comments commentary by in-universe characters]]--one of whom is a magpie going by the username "magpie55". He thinks Bobeyes is a pretty cool, tough guy, and is as surprised as anyone to learn that Bobeyes is a girl. From his commentary on the final comic page, it's obvious that he's smitten.
299* ''Webcomic/HannaIsNotABoysName'': {{Inverted|Trope}} in the [[https://hinabnontumblargh.tumblr.com/post/72104675288#notes opening strips]], as [[FirstPersonPeripheralNarrator Zombie]] naturally assumed that "[[GenderBlenderName Hanna Cross]]" would be a woman. Played straight [[https://hinabnontumblargh.tumblr.com/post/72104450519#notes a short time later]] when [[ShapeshifterModeLock bat!]][[FullyEmbracedFiend Adelaide]] is introduced.
300* [[spoiler:Count Repugsive]] in ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}''. The reason she gives for the deception is that "female villains only get respect if they're hot". [[spoiler:Which she certainly isn't, being an undead BlackKnight.]]
301* This is explicitly referenced in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', when one of the protagonists puts on a very Samus-like suit. This follows:
302-->'''Agatha:''' No, I can't even tell you're girl.
303* Played with in ''Webcomic/{{Pacificators}}''. On one side, [[TheStoic Taffe]] [[BlowYouAway Torbern]] doesn't ''actively'' dresses in a manner that would cause confusion about her gender, but she ''is'' flat-chested, and a tomboy. There have had been multiple instances in which she gets mistaken for a boy, especially by the TooDumbToLive pirate Ferdinand. In fact, when she was first introduced, the ''readers'' weren't sure whether she was a girl or a boy. It wasn't until the first encounter with the pirate Ferdinand that her gender is cleared up.
304* ''Webcomic/WhenSheWasBad'' has a highly feared mob enforcer who goes by the name Coyote. Most people assume the Coyote is male, but she is actually a PerkyFemaleMinion named Rosie. Her employers are pretty much the only ones who know her true identity, since she never leaves witnesses alive.
305* ''Webcomic/{{Visseria}}'' has Alchione, who until pointed out by a child, was unapparent to the reader as being female for the first couple of pages that she appeared. This was caused in large part by her armor, but also by her abnormal height and musculature.
306%%* Done [[http://cockeyed.webcomic.ws/comics/122 here]] with a ninja-type figure in ''Webcomic/CockeyedComix''.
307* ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' has the revelation "No, Luke, I am your ''mother''" -- coming, of course, from Darth Vader, the {{Magic|Knight}} BlackKnight [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]], who was up to that point assumed to be Luke's father like in the [[Franchise/StarWars movies]]. Palpatine had figured the traditionalist military wouldn't want to follow an openly female leader. Of course, Vader's armour made him taller and gave him a lower voice in the original as well.
308* In ''Webcomic/PrincessPrincess'', Sadie initially thinks that Amira is yet another prince come to rescue her. Amira tells her that she is no prince, she is a princess! And she has a grappling hook!
309* In ''Webcomic/DoesNotPlayWellWithOthers'', only the reader finds out that the arch-nemesis of the superhero Falchion is actually a woman. [[DatingCatwoman She ends up becoming Falchion's girlfriend]].
310-->'''Janis:''' If someone catches you in the hideout without the armor on, pretend to be [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter the evil villain's confused daughter]] who just needs some [[AllWomenAreLustful lawful hot dickings]] to set her on the path to straight and narrow. Yeah, totally the best plan I ever made!
311* ''Webcomic/YoungerDays'': the character Sam is easily mistaken for a boy, both in-universe and by readers, due to her having a [[GenderBlenderName gender neutral name]], boyish short hair, and hardly ever dressing in typical girl clothes.
312* According to ''Webcomic/ItSucksToBeWeegie'', Luigi is oblivious to the {{Trope Namer|s}}. When Samus, the only girl who is into him, [[https://www.deviantart.com/kevinbolk/art/Sucks-to-be-Luigi-Flirting-179624896 tried to pick Luigi up at a bar.]] Luigi, naturally, assumed she was a guy and said that he "doesn't swing that way". Cue Link giving a FacePalm and immediately offering Luigi afterwards to cry on his couch to sleep over "nothing".
313* Dante of ''Webcomic/CharCole'' is a female Cubone, but since Cubones are a Pokémon species without visible sexual dimorphism, her trainer, Brian, did not realize this until he was informed of Dante's sex by Pokémon Center staff weeks after first catching her. Until Dante's gender was revealed, Brian's entire Pokemon Team (who were just as clueless as their trainer) considered her a boy, something that Dante is quite offended about once she learns it.
314* A major reveal in ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'' is that Richard isn't Lord Ashendale's son, Richard but rather Regyna, the boy's older sister. Richard didn't know either as being transformed into the warlock scrambled her memories.
315** A more minor reveal is that Cale's panther Sooba is also female.
316* ''Webcomic/HarpyGee'': The unnamed hulking knight that acted as one of Princess Halcea's bodyguards. The "Courage and Fear" story revealed not only that the knight was a human woman, but [[spoiler:Cinder, Ash's mother.]]
317[[/folder]]
318
319[[folder:Web Original]]
320* ''Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG'':
321** Played with; Agent Pyro spent the majority of the RPG wearing a gas mask, balaclava, and baggy pants, leading to some joking about his true gender. When it came time for the mask to come off, it turned out to be a woman to the shock of everyone. It's actually a subversion. Later on a psychotic, disheveled, and all-around unpleasant man started shouting in the comms only to be repeatedly told to shut up- this was actually the ''real'' agent Pyro, and the girl who had been unmasked and assumed to be Pyro was actually his daughter [[SweetPollyOliver impersonating him]] to protect him from TheMole.
322** Played straight in the case of Pterisa. Since she wore samurai armor and a cloth veil over her face to hide her identity, no one knew that she was female until she spoke. This actually happened on two separate occasions: when she was first introduced in [[HubCity LEGO City]], and when she met up with the rest of the cast in the [[TempleOfDoom Maelstrom Temple]].
323%%* Hilariously parodied in ''Website/TheOnion'' story [[http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31739 "Hotshot Test Pilot Removes Helmet, Reveals Female Status"]].
324* The main character's gender in ''Literature/FightingMonsters'' isn't revealed until several chapters in, when it becomes a twist that she, the first superhero, is a woman.
325* In the fifth season of ''WebVideo/TheGuild'', [[spoiler:Zaboo's two Master Chief lackees]] are revealed as hot girls.
326* Cordell the dark elf from ''Website/GaiaOnline'' was not particularly concealed, just androgynous, having been introduced as a champion of the dark elves willing to compete in the ([[AbortedArc non-canon]]) Reject Olympics on behalf of Durem. She was found to be female when an aggressive YaoiFangirl [[NoFourthWall invaded the track]] and [[SkinshipGrope felt her up]]. "[[MemeticMutation Hay UR not a bishie!]]"
327* ''WebVideo/TwitchPlaysPokemon'': For the entirety of the stream, Air the Lapras was assumed to be a male. However, transferring it to Generation II shows it to be a female. By analyzing her stats, it was also found that Flareon the False Prophet/Martyr was also female.
328* ''Roleplay/WeAreOurAvatars'': When Michelle took Proto Man's helmet in order to repair him, it turns out that Roll was impersonating Proto Man the whole time.
329* It's not unusual for some of the kittens fostered in ''WebVideo/TheCritterRoom'' to be given a name under the assumption they were one gender before it is discovered they are actually of the other. Sometimes this means the name has to be changed, but if the name or a nickname is gender neutral, it can stay the same.
330* In the parody article [[https://the-toast.net/2015/11/26/empowered-female-heroine/ "A Day In the Life of an Empowered Female Heroine,"]] the character in question is so tough she somehow does the reveal as the first thing when she wakes up.
331-->She woke up like she did every day: slowly pulling her motorcycle helmet off, then shaking her head slowly back and forth to reveal a long, blonde ponytail. Everyone gasped. “That’s right,” she said, kicking the winning football goal before sliding into a sheer, sexy camisole under a blazer and playing as hard as she worked, “I’ve been a girl ''this whole time''.” One of the guys, the real sexy one, shook his head in slow motion, as if to say “wh-wh-wh-whaaat?” You know the kind. His mouth was kind of open while he did it. He was totally blown away.
332* Mekhane from the Website/SCPFoundation is an odd case. Mekhane’s gender is DependingOnTheWriter, but in the earlier days of the site, they were most often depicted as a male. In recent times, however, Mekhane is now most frequently depicted as a goddess, likely stemming from their name being a feminine noun in Ancient Greek.
333[[/folder]]
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