Line #9 Main/SpoilerOpening


1	->''"Oh no, we were only just too late, you’re lucky I wasn’t paying attention the 19 times the opening spoiled your death!"''
2	-->-- '''Joseph Joestar''', ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency [=JoJo=]’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency]] WebAnimation/ButReallyReallyFast''
3
4	The lush, detailed opening credits contain information about the cast or plot that nullifies surprises later in the series. Thus, it's pretty obvious that when someone apparently important shows up who isn't in the opening credits, they aren't going to be around for very long. Similarly, the series tries to pretend that someone isn't very important, but they're featured prominently in the credits.
5
6	Series that rely on PreviouslyOn in order to keep viewers up to speed are especially prone to this. Because only the parts of the story arc relevant to the current episode get recapped, the viewer is tipped off that those parts of the story arc are about to show up.
7
8	This is also particularly common in adaptations, because the producers often assume that many viewers will already be familiar with at least the basic outline plot, because many viewers are only there ''because'' they want to see spoilery stuff from far ahead in the plot, and because adaptations of LongRunners naturally have more they ''can'' spoil. In cases like those, it can also qualify as a LateArrivalSpoiler.
9
10	A series [[AvertedTrope can get around this]] by:
11	* BaitAndSwitchCredits: having the opening have little to do with the actual plot.
12	* EvolvingCredits: updating the opening as events transpire in-series.
13	* Shaping their opening credits to merely have depictions which {{foreshadow\|ing}} upcoming events.
14
15	[[Administrivia/InternalSubtrope A variation]] is where an [[TheUnseen unseen character]] or actor is [[TheFaceless kept hidden]] [[ToBeContinued until the next installment]], yet credited in the ClosingCredits. Another variation is where vaguely famous names appear in the opening credits, so [[NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize you can guess automatically that they're going to be fairly prominent in the episode before they even show up]]. In series with recurring characters that are not normally in the credits or a [[TheBusCameBack cameo from someone who left the show]] this can indicate their eventual presence in an episode ruining their unexpected entrance. These variants are often {{Enforced\|Trope}} by the certain rules of Actor UsefulNotes/{{Unions\|InHollywood}},[[note]]specifically, who can appear where in the credits[[/note]] [[http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/guide/098.html as noted by]] Creator/JMichaelStraczynski. DeadStarWalking can be either a straight-playing or an aversion of this subtrope, depending on how it's presented.
16
17	Overlaps with ForegoneConclusion. Compare TrailersAlwaysSpoil. Contrast NotNamedInOpeningCredits, when the credits omit an actor's name and maintain the surprise. See also FirstEpisodeTwist, which can often fall prey to this, though that can be averted with any of the above methods or just using a TitleOnlyOpening for that episode. If the opening does contain spoilers but it's impossible to know what it's spoiling without having already watched it, see RewatchBonus.
18
19	'''Since this is a spoiler trope, there will be unmarked spoilers below.'''
20
21	----
22	!!Examples:
23	[[index]]
24	* SpoilerOpening/AnimeAndManga
25	** ''SpoilerOpening/{{Bleach}}''
26	** ''SpoilerOpening/PrettyCure''
27	* SpoilerOpening/LiveActionTV
28	* SpoilerOpening/VideoGames
29	[[/index]]
30
31	[[foldercontrol]]
32
33	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
34	* Inverted in ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf: Mighty Little Defenders''. The credits feature artwork that summarizes the season's events, including the ending. This wouldn't be a problem, except these credits appear in ''every'' episode of that season, well before most of these plot points are even mentioned.
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Fanfiction]]
38	* ''Webcomic/OfMiceAndMayhem'', a ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' GraphicNovel, has a ''front cover'' that gives away half of the story.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Film — Animated]]
42	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'': Flynn Rider announces he will die as the first line in the movie. He gets better.
43	* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}''. The owls say he'll die, implicitly at some point during the storyline. At the end, when it hasn't happened, one owl suggests he might die from a household accident. At some point after the timeframe of the movie.
44	* Disney's ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973'' did this by ''showing detached scenes from the movie's plot points in the opening credits''. Every relevant character in the movie is shown with an animation of them solo from various important parts of the movie, and the animations for the rest of the credits is from ''the climax''.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
48	* The OntologicalMystery of ''Film/DarkCity'' is spoiled by the OpeningMonologue, which is taken from a scene halfway through the movie. (ExecutiveMeddling mandated the addition of the voiceover.) Future viewers: Do yourself a favour and watch the directors cut, which omits the monologue.
49	* Subverted in ''Theatre/{{Sleuth}}'', which deliberately features an opening cast list which proves to be wildly inaccurate.
50	* ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'''s opening subverts the trope, with the prologue of the old man concluding with a graphic MatchCut to...John Miller. (The old man later turns out to actually be Ryan.) Played straight if you're a bit more knowledgable about the American Army: the old man is wearing a pin of the 101st Airborne (Screaming Eagles), and Ryan is the only principal character in the film in that division.
51	* Averted in ''Film/{{Se7en}}'': the actor playing John Doe is [[SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer missing from the opening credits]] instead receiving the first credit at the ending.
52	* TheMockbuster ''[[Film/ParanormalActivity Paranormal Entity]]'' takes this to extremes. Three minutes into the film, it is revealed that the protagonist's sister is dead, he went to jail for her murder, he hung himself, and then his mother (who got possessed) hung herself too. The remaining 87 minutes of the film are ''[[AntiClimax pointless]]''.
53	* The opening credits of ''Film/GoldenEye'' make it fairly plain that we haven't seen the last of Sean Bean, despite his character being "killed" before the credits even rolled.
54	* This is avoided in the opening of ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock''...but there is an extra long pause between Creator/WilliamShatner's credit and Creator/DeForestKelley's, where Creator/LeonardNimoy's name would usually appear. In fact, the screen goes white at the moment when his name would appear, so one could imagine Nimoy's name "appearing" in white-on-white.
55	* Want to watch ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks'' and not know the ending? Stop watching the opening credits when Donald [=McKayle=] is credited for the choreography!
56	* In the film adaptation of ''Film/{{Eragon}}'', along with being almost nothing like the book, the audience is informed of the fact that Arya is a princess during the opening narration and plot set up. A fact that readers didn't find out about until halfway through the second book.
57	* In the film ''Film/{{Horsemen}}'' (starring Creator/DennisQuaid), Ziyi Zhang has second billing in the opening credits. Even if you didn't recognize the name, the fact that she's the only Asian actor in the movie gives away the fact that her character is more than she seems to be when she is first introduced.
58	* The opening narration of ''Film/MoulinRouge'' by Christian clearly states "the woman I loved is dead."
59	* The opening narration of ''Film/{{Hop}}'' spoils the fact that the main human character becomes the first human Easter Bunny. This concept isn't introduced until a little before the climax, after a movie of basically nothing happening.
60	* The German version of Music/TheWho's ''Tommy'' has an opening narration that states "Tommy can not be dubbed!" in this exact words. The narrator then proceeds to give an overview of the film's plot which means he gives away every plot twist until the very last moment of the film as if he was reading the synopsis off of Wikipedia. The narration also plays over the first two minutes of the film where Tommy's parents meet until the start of the war and cancels out any music. Then the movie proceeds with subtitles, making the inclusion of the narrator completely pointless.
61	* The opening several minutes of ''Film/{{Melancholia}}'' play out the entire plot in a series of stylized images.
62	* In the opening credits to ''[[Film/GeorgeOfTheJungle George of the Jungle 2]]'', the song gives away several plot points. The first movie's opening song cut off before it got to the extended cut's plot summary.
63	* The credits to ''Film/KillBill'' Volume 1 give away the fact that he is portrayed by Creator/DavidCarradine, despite the fact that his face is hidden until Volume 2. Although fans of Carradine's work would likely recognize his distinct voice anyway.
64	* [[https://www.fathomevents.com/ Fathom Events]], a company that distributes special event films[[note]]examples include transmissions of fine arts events such as Metropolitan Opera shows, rereleases of classic/older films such as ''Theatre/SouthPacific'' and ''Film/TheBigLebowski'', and special limited engagements such as concert films and the first two ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' movies[[/note]] to cinemas such as AMC, often likes to put in making of featurettes before the movie, which often contain clips or information that can blow certain plot details for people seeing the films for the first time. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX5Jnd36iJw This video mentions the following three examples]]:
65	** During the making of featurette for ''Film/DeathNoteTheLastName'', key scenes from the film were shown and it was revealed that the film was a two-parter.
66	** When ''Film/RamboIV'' was shown in 2008, Creator/SylvesterStallone showed the alternate ending of the first movie where Rambo died during the making-of documentary. The Rambo sequels were also mentioned in the preshow.
67	** The 2009 hi-definition event of ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' spoiled many of the scenes from the film during the documentary shown before it, including the ending.
68	** An interview that played before the Insider Access to ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' event spoiled Bing Bong's death when talking about how his voice actor (Richard Kind) cried while recording the character's last words: "Take her to the moon for me...okay?". What's even worse is that the '''trailers''' for the event spoiled some parts of the movie's climax, including the scene where Joy runs through Imagination Land, the scene where Anger gives Riley the idea to run away and the scene where Joy and Sadness splat onto the window of Headquarters after Fear says "I wish Joy was here!"[[note]]admittedly, the last mentioned scene could account for TrailerJokeDecay as well[[/note]]
69	** The 2018 "Creator/JimHenson Holiday Special" screening of ''Literature/EmmetOttersJugBandChristmas'' and ''The Bells of Series/FraggleRock'' has a 5-minute documentary hosted by Creator/AmyPoehler that has a few spoilers for the former special.
70	** Thankfully, this has gotten less frequent, possibly due to the complaints they've received. Many events nowadays either put the bonus content after the movie (such as the ''Series/DoctorWho'' 50th Anniversary special and ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant''), use clips that don't spoil much of the movie (such as ''WesternAnimation/TeamHotWheels: The Origin Of Awesome'', which used clips from the first 20 minutes, which were already available for free on [=YouTube=]), use no clips at all (Some examples include the 2015 showings of ''The Wizard of Oz'' and ''Film/{{Grease}}'', or for that matter anything else screened under the "TCM Big Screen Classics" banner, which have introductions by Creator/TurnerClassicMovies hosts that don't spoil anything, but instead reveal tidbits about the movie you are about to watch - such as how ''Oz'' was not very successful in its initial run, but was VindicatedByHistory many years later when it was first shown on TV) or interview the cast (such as ''Music/OneDirection: Where We Are'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF''[[note]]which was not mainly distributed by Fathom Events, but rather Funimation Films; only a select number of theaters had the film distributed by Fathom[[/note]]).
71	* [[EnforcedTrope Enforced]] with Film/{{Zardoz}}. Arthur Frayn's BreakingTheFourthWall opening monologue where he literally explains the plot of the movie was added by Creator/JohnBoorman after test audience found the movie incomprehensible.
72	* The 1995 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition home video release of ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' included a making-of retrospective.... which played before the main feature, revealing every single plot element including the ending.
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Literature]]
76	* If you're reading one of Edward Rutherford's multi-generation historical novels (''Sarum'', ''London'', etc), don't even glance at the family tree at the front of the book until you've read the whole thing: it'll spoil who has kids with whom, etc.
77	* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'': The first page of ''The Last Guardian'' says (at the bottom, in Gnommish): The Last Will and Testament of Artemis Fowl.
78	* In an in-Verse example, the elaborate [=LARP=] Games of the ''Literature/DreamPark'' series are nearly always preceded by a formal recitation of the rules of play. One such rule commonly stipulates how many lost points a player can reclaim if, having been "killed out", they return "from the grave" as a zombie, ''tornrait'', or other undead. Which, naturally, prematurely reveals that there '''are''' undead as part of the Game's internal mythos and plotline.
79	* The cover of the third book of ''Literature/TheIcewindDaleTrilogy'' shows the heroes fighting demons in Tartarus, which only happens at the very end of the book. Also, Bruenor is shown on the cover, who was thought dead in the previous book and makes a surprising return in this book.
80	* ''Literature/TheNatureOfPredators'': The "Memory Transcription Subject" line at the beginning of each chapter spoils that the character should wind up surviving long enough to have their memories transcribed after the events of the story. [[spoiler:This is SubvertedTrope in the case of UN secretary-general Elias Meier, whose death is revealed in chapter 68, along with the fact that a brain scan was conducted shortly after his death by a group of xenophobic Venlil in order to figure out what seperates the "good" humans from the "bad" humans.]]
81	* From the ''introduction'' of ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'':
82	-->I've finished my war book now... It begins like this:\
83	''Listen:''\
84	''Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.''\
85	It ends like this:\
86	''Poo-tee-weet?''
87	* Creator/StephenieMeyer managed to spoil ''Literature/Twilight2005'''s plot twist on the back of the book. Then again, Edward being a vampire is the entire premise, so it's not like anyone picked the book up without already knowing the twist.
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
91	* ''Series/TheNoddyShop''[='s=] intro shows several characters who won't be introduced until the second episode, namely Warloworth Q. Weasel.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Theatre]]
95	* Many Shakespeare plays spoil the ending in the prologue, which was basically their point. The enjoyment of the story wasn't to be surprised by the outcome, but to see how it gets there. For example, ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' states that Romeo and Juliet die. In fact, many plays are referred to as tragedies right on the title pages of printed editions, so you know that things turn out poorly before you've read a word.
96	* The 2005 stage musical ''Willy Wonka'' is a ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' adaptation that's TruerToTheText than the [[Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory 1971 film version]] but uses its songs. The opening scene takes place in the factory, with Willy Wonka the first character the audience meets, and he goes on to reveal that he's planning to retire, but not before he finds an heir. In the book and most adaptations, he does not appear until the other characters arrive at the factory for the Golden Ticket tour and TheReveal that he's been seeking an heir all along is the climax of the story (he does appear in a few flashbacks in the first half of the 2005 film in order to explain the backstory, but his face is usually obscured and by the time he appears in the second half, he's...changed a bit). While the story is well-known and [[CharlieAndtheChocolateParody parodied]] enough to qualify as ItWasHisSled, and Mr. Wonka ''is'' the most memorable character in it, this opening not only spoils the whole show, but negates the attempts in subsequent scenes to build up any mystery surrounding Mr. Wonka.
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
100	* The first opening of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' shows Rin and Sakura depressingly turning away from each other. At first, it seems that it's because they're both Shirou's love interest in their respective routes, but it hints at their true relationship.
101	* Each time you start a new game in ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'', you are shown a pretty cool opening video for the game displaying many beautiful [=CGs=]. The problem is that a ''lot'' of them are from late in the routes and so implicitly or explicitly spoilery.
102	* In ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'''s opening movie, a few brief images of Leon's execution are visible, including an almost-clear shot of his face just before being executed. It also shows brief footage of Makoto's execution in Chapter Five. TheAnimeOfTheGame went out of its way to avert this by showing all 15 students in the courtroom and the elevator leading down to it, in order to avoid spoiling who dies first.
103	* In Takeshi's perspective of ''VisualNovel/Ever17'', it's revealed near the end of each route that there is a [[UnderwaterBase secret facility deeper underwater]], directly under [=LeMU=]. However, the observant will notice something very clearly visible under [=LeMU=] [[http://youtu.be/8BtV0a5M2xk in the very first shot of the opening video]]. It's not clear ''what'' it is, but after reading the story for a while, one can guess it's pretty much unknown to the characters and [[ChekhovsGun will probably become important eventually]].
104	* The PC opening of ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate'' was not subtile about its images compared to the other versions (Mainly because they use FreezeFrameBonus or the scenes were used out of context); showcasing Moeka's death, Mayuri's first death by head shot, Mayuri's second death by car crash, Tennouji's suicide, Dr Nakabachi trying to kill Kurisu and the satellite who crashed into Radio-Kaikan being a time machine. All of them being major plot twists.
105	* The ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series likes to play around with this. Each episode begins with a sequence related to the case at hand. While each of these sequences does depict actual events which are revealed as the case progresses, they are often times misleading or only tangentially related to the murder. Only five times throughout the series is the real killer clearly shown in the act in the prologue scene.
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Webcomics]]
109	* ''Webcomic/GrimTrigger'': Volume one's opening sequence spoils Tage and Hunter working together. The first two credits also spoil Lodin and Proxy joining them.
110	* The third chapter intro for ''Webcomic/PepsiaPhobia'' spoils both [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Mania]]'s introduction and the appearance of her human form.
111	* The opening pages of ''Webcomic/ReversedStar'' show Icaruss and Evangeline fighting together in a war, which makes the fact that he will eventually reach her a ForegoneConclusion. Most of the dramatic tension instead comes from how he does it, and how he and Evangeline become the people that they are by that point.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Web Original]]
115	* The fourth season of ''Series/FlandersCompany'' has Clara appearing in the credits along the other employees, completely spoiling both her return and her HeelFaceTurn.
116	* ''WebAnimation/PrincessNatasha'': Oleg doesn't appear until episode 3, but the intro reveals his role from the very start.
117	* The first season of ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' always had Tex in the opening, even if it takes ten episodes (released over two months) for the first appearance. At least it hid [[SamusIsAGirl another more important thing]].
118	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
119	** The Volume 1 opening reveals which characters will be on the same team many episodes before it happens, and reveals a character that has a cameo in the pilot episode is going to be a major villain; without the opening credits, this villain only returns in TheStinger at the end of the volume to reveal she's Roman's boss rather than a lackey.
120	** The Volume 4 opening shows Blake aboard a ship with companions. When Episode 3 introduces her being followed around the ship by a hooded figure, it's easy to guess the stalker's identity before the in-episode reveal occurs.
121	** The Volume 7 opening includes such a big spoiler that the writers asked the fandom to watch the first episode ''before'' watching the opening credits. This isn't a problem for most people as first episodes are always a cold opening with the opening credits occurring at the end of the episode and then opening all subsequent episodes in the volume. However, opening credits are also often released online as a teaser before the pilot episode. Fans who are used to checking out the opening credits before the first episode drops were asked not to do so this time. [[spoiler:The opening credits reveal that Penny, who was destroyed in Volume 3, has been [[RobotGirl rebuilt]] and returns to the show.]]
122	* ''WebVideo/SplinterCellExtinction'': the shot with Julian Hunter [[TakeMyHand reaching out to Corbin]] from the helicopter, spoiling the penultimate episode and finale.
123	* ''WebVideo/VideoGameHighSchool'': {{Inverted}} in Season 3. The closing credits don't change between episodes, so attentive viewers will notice that Nathan Kress plays "New Law" as early as Season 3 Episode 1.
124	* The animated credits for Campaign 2 of ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'' very prominently lack a certain purple tiefling, where the only reference to him is a shot of a [[SnowMeansDeath snow covered grave]] marked by his trademark coat. [[spoiler: His inclusion in the Dungeon Master's book as of 112 also spoils his [[BackFromTheDead mysterious return.]]]]
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Western Animation]]
128	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''. Just pay attention to the first 5 seconds of the opening, and you will get spoiled with one of the biggest plot twists in the whole series: the fact that Ooo is actually the remains of Earth after a giant nuclear war.
129	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': The opening sequence for the third season spoils the ending of the previous season, wherein [[spoiler:the show shifts locations from the titular Amphibia to Anne's hometown of Los Angeles back on Earth]]. The sequence also reveals that [[spoiler:Marcy is still alive]], which happens to be the only reason why the season two finale wasn't edited, as the creator agreed to have the new title sequence added as an after-credits scene to mitigate the tension of [[spoiler:her apparent death]] instead. It also shows [[spoiler:Andrias' robots flying through the skies of Earth, indicating that his invasion was [[YouCantThwartStageOne going to get through]]]].
130	* The intro to ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' features characters that are in skits that don't even premiere until a few episodes in, like Goodfeathers, Slappy Squirrel, Buttons and Mindy and Rita and Runt. As the show aired on Monday through Fridays during its run, these spoilers lasted for at least two weeks.
131	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
132	** Episodes will often open with a recap of ''anything from an earlier episode that is related to the current one in any way''. As such, if scenes from the episode "Jet" shows up in the recap, don't be surprised about the character Jet suddenly showing up. A bigger example is The Order of the White Lotus, whose importance to the plot was hinted at extremely early because of this.
133	** The opening to the season 2 finale "Crossroads of Destiny" ends with a flashback to Roku ominously telling Aang "If you are killed in the Avatar State, the reincarnation cycle will be broken, and the Avatar will cease to exist." No points for guessing what very nearly happens at the climax of the episode.
134	** An alternate opening narration for the first episode averts this trope, as Katara gives more information on the war and the Avatar but doesn't mention Aang because she hasn't met him yet.
135	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' shows in its original intro that Captain America survived getting thrown into an icy sea, negating the attempts that Cap's debut episode made to make his fate seem ambiguous. It also shows Hank Pym becoming Giant-Man, an ability he doesn't demonstrate until his second appearance (chronologically speaking) Additionally, episodes set before the founding of the Avengers show eight members in the intro's TeamShot, revealing that Hawkeye won't remain an enemy of the heroes for long. The recaps attached to season two episodes also spoil the returns of certain antagonists by showing their previous appearances.
136	* The opening of season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'' has a quick shot of [[spoiler:Liv Amara]] with the other villains, who was only revealed to be villainous in the second episode of the season, though there were hints in the first season.
137	* [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with ''WesternAnimation/BlinkyBill''; so as not to immediately spoil the {{story arc}} of season 3, the first two episodes of the season use [[SpecialEditionTitle an alternate intro]], featuring clips from throughout the season [[note]]mostly ones from the few episodes set in Australia, although there are a few exceptions, such as Blinky running across the African plains[[/note]], and set to a modified version of season 2's theme song.
138	* ''WesternAnimation/ElenaOfAvalor'': The Season 3 intro removes Esteban from the "With her family by her side" scene and the group shot at the end, hinting that something happens that causes Esteban to be absent. This intro debuts the same episode where we learn why he's missing from the intro ([[spoiler:he has been disowned and is now a wanted fugitive]]). A big glaringly, Isabel also has an updated animation model in this episode, but the scenes retained from the previous intros still feature her in her original animation model, so this new intro variant was clearly meant to foreshadow Esteban's fate.
139	* ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'': The opening narration talks about a war between the Neo-Sapiens and the Humans... a war which only STARTS in the sixth episode. This is made all the more confusing by the fact that that a Human/Neo-Sapien war took place in the show's backstory (but not the war the opening narration shows clips of).
140	* The intro for ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' is comprised of scenes from the show's PilotMovie, which causes problems when you're watching it as a five-part episode.
141	* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', the intro features a few blink-and-you'll-miss-it spoilers, such as Li'l Gideon Gleeful and two separate appearances by Bill Cipher. One of the latter, at least, is a brief sketch of him on paper covered in cryptic gibberish that's easy to write off unless you know what's going on, but the second is a full-screen image that shows up in a momentary but jarring fashion just as the show's name is onscreen, making it fairly noticeable and creepy.
142	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}'': Each season has a unique opening which features characters and settings that are explored in that season. This means that, for earlier episodes of a season, characters that have yet to be seen will be sighted in the intro first.
143	* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'':
144	** The intro for season 2 showed that Valmont would be possessed by Shendu for season 2.
145	** Even before Valmont and his three last Enforcers (Finn, Ratso and Chow) met Daolon Wong, the Season 3 intro revealed the Enforcers becoming Wong's Dark Chi Warriors and it did not feature Valmont, revealing the latter wouldn't appear as often as he did the previous story arcs.
146	** Season 4's first episode started with a PreviouslyOn showing scenes from when people other than Shendu controlled Shadowkhan and scenes from when Daolon Wong was [[BroughtDownToNormal depowered]]. Before the intro, Wong tried to regain control of Shadowkhan to make them break him out of prison but he instead awakens Tarakudo. Then the intro shows Tarakudo as that season's BigBad, the Enforcers working for him and Wong not being featured.
147	** Season 5's intro doesn't feature the Enforcers and, while Drago becoming the major antagonist was probably expected by the time the intro first started, his featured henchmen wouldn't appear before his third episode.
148	* The opening credits for ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', and later ''Justice League Unlimited'', would show (sometimes spoileriffic) scenes from that particular episode.
149	* The series pilot of ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'', which gave away the entire episode plot.
150	* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'':
151	** Lord Monty a.k.a. Monkey Fist appears in the opening theme from the very first episode onwards, however his first appearance was not until episode 13, where it was written as if Monty turning out to be the bad guy was a big twist.
152	** This happened again in the last season when the opening changed, spoiling Warmonga well before her episode appearance. Once again, her episode is written as if we're not supposed to have any idea who this ''other'' green-skinned lady who's helping Drakken who isn't Shego is.
153	* The ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' pilot "Man of Tomorrow" had spoilers in the opening credits, showing Timber Wolf, who wouldn't be making an appearance until the next episode.
154	* * In ''WesternAnimation/MasterRaindrop'' it happens with three of the five elements:
155	** Jin Hou appears in the team in several scenes, so we know Raindrop would win the monks' competition for the right to keep him.
156	** Its opening shows Niwa as the element Earth, but the main characters and antagonists thinking the Princess Jade was the element Earth was a plot pont.
157	** It was worse with Shao Yen. She was treated as the token muggle with martial skills and it was an excuse for the big bad, General Bu, to leave her alone, or at least think at it. Just episodes later it was revealed she was the element Wood. Guess who the opening made a point of introducing as the element Wood since the first episode?
158	* ''WesternAnimation/MyAdventuresWithSuperman'': The opening sequence, first released on Website/YouTube but first broadcast starting with the second episode (after the 2-part premiere), shows [[RoguesGallery a bunch of villains]] before their proper introductions in the storyline, though [[FreezeFrameBonus only for a few seconds]]. Examples include Slade Wilson/Deathstroke [[spoiler:(albeit he's not immediately recognisable in his PoweredArmour)]], and Mr. Mxyzptlk with GlowingEyesOfDoom [[spoiler:spoiling that his claims to Clark about being an inter-dimensional peacekeeper on introduction are complete bunk]]. An ''[[InvertedTrope inversion]]'' occurs with [[spoiler:Mist, who is absent despite the other members of Intergang being shown, helping to support his claims of evading Task Force X in "Zero Day, Part 1" before it's revealed that he's actually TheBait luring Superman into an ambush]]. Most importantly, [[spoiler:[[GreaterScopeVillain Nemesis Omega]], a being referred to throughout the series is shown prominently in the middle of the screen along with his [[AlienInvasion spaceship]], but far back enough to be out of focus despite his [[BewareTheSuperman overarching influence]] on the plot. The framing also makes him look similarly-sized to Clark as well, highlighting their [[EvilCounterpart opposing roles]]]].
159	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has the Japanese dub opening sequences, the 3rd opening being the biggest example, as it spoils the ending for the season two finale ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 A Canterlot]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2 Wedding]]''.
160	* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': The "Night of the Living Pharmacists" title sequence shows an animation of Perry's footprints being zapped by electricity and turning into Doofenshmirtz's footprints, spoiling the ending that includes Perry being transformed into a Doofenzombie.
161	* In ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'', every four episodes of seasons 3 and 4 had an opening sequence using clips from those four episodes. Naturally plot developments like Enzo's TimeSkip, the Saucy Mare's web armor, and Mainframe in ruins are spoiled. Averted with the Creator/{{Toonami}} broadcast, which replaced those openings with customized ones.
162	* The opening credits for ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'' feature the Saturdays being charged by a quartet of villains. While one of them, Piecemeal, shows up relatively early in episode 4, the others are Eterno, a one-shot villain who doesn't show up for several more episodes, Rani Naga, who also doesn't appear until almost the end of the season, and Shoji Fuzen, who appears in episode 3, but is wearing blue samurai armor he won't don until many episodes later.
163	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
164	** The second intro shows Connie [[WeaponAcrossTheShoulder carrying]] [[{{BFS}} Rose's sword]], spoiling that she'd be trained as a swordfighter (which happens in the intro's debut episode) and that it would become her usual weapon (which happens ten episodes later).
165	** Nine episodes into ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'', Steven is shocked to discover [[OffscreenBreakup Sadie and Lars never got together and are moving on romantically]]. However, the opening already showed Sadie separate from Lars and hanging out with a new character (who turns out to be Sadie's new significant other).
166	** The closing credits and {{Episode Title Card}}s have an emphasis on Steven driving his car which rather overtly hint at [[spoiler:Steven [[ButNowIMustGo moving out]] of Beach City at the end of the series]]. The show's creator has even stated that, while the title cards of the original series were set in the present, for ''Future'' they're always set after the end.
167	* ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'':
168	** The opening of ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' season 5: Fast Forward, spoils that Darius Dun, initially a minor supporting character, is the BigBad (he is seen looming over all the other villains).
169	** Despite being introduced as Shredder's lieutenants, Chris Bradford and Xever are strangely absent from the intro of ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012''. Instead, Shredder is shown standing with the {{mutant}}s Dogpound and Fishface. No prizes for guessing what's going to happen to Bradford and Xever.
170	* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': The theme song of ''Action'' featured Courtney, who came back halfway through to the surprise of the castmates and (maybe) Chris. However, the flipbook itself had no intention of this ever being a spoiler.
171	* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'':
172	** The Japanese opening of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' spoils Longarm being a Decepticon, Blackarachnia commanding the Dinobots, Starscream's Allspark fragment and clones. However, there's also so much stuff that [[BaitAndSwitchCredits simply doesn't happen]] that it's hard for a new viewer to tell what's important and what isn't.
173	** [[BigBad Megatron]] is presumed dead at the end of the five-episode opening arc for ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. While the odds of a ''Transformers'' outing killing off Megatron that early were already ''low'', the opening credits then bump them down to ''nonexistent'' by prominently featuring Megatron.
174	** The season 2 opening to ''WesternAnimation/TransformersCyberverse'' shows a [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars cheetah-themed robot]] and prominently features Starscream donning yellow armour, so it's not much of a surprise when Starscream turns out to be NotQuiteDead and Cheetor joins the Autobots.
175	* The opening of ''WesternAnimation/{{Trollhunters}}'' spoils the fact that Jim's love interest Claire is going to join the team while she spends the first half of the first season [[{{Muggles}} clueless about Jim and Toby's adventures]].
176	* The EpisodeTitleCard for ''WesternAnimation/TuffPuppy'' features pictures of major characters and objects in the featured episode; the last picture (with the "directed by" credit) will always be the featured villain. This could extend to someone turning evil (like Quacky the Duck), or someone revealed to be EvilAllAlong (like the Lunch Ladybug).
177	* The first season of WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}} has Yugo being [[FastballSpecial Fastball Specialed]] into the MonsterOfTheWeek (or equivalent thereof) at the end of every opening. Even when the identity of said MonsterOfTheWeek was presented as a twist in the actual episode, such as the thief from [[Recap/WakfuS1E9RuelsBag ''Ruel's Bag'']]. Fortunately dropped by the second season.
178	* The opening of ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' does not include Morph listed among the team's roster, making it fairly easy to guess that he won't be lasing all the way through the opening two-parter. Even after he comes back from the dead, he never rejoins the team full time.
179	* The intro to ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' shows all of the X-Men gathered together and shows them off by name, despite the fact that half of them don't show up for several episodes. The most notable case is Rogue, who is introduced early on as a character, but keeps her allegiance uncertain until halfway through the season.
180	* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'':
181	** One episode has the team helped out by an arrow fired from the shadows. When they confront Green Arrow and accuse him of babysitting them and he proves it wasn't his arrow, they assume his sidekick, Speedy, is ready to join the team after storming out in the pilot. Yeah ... or maybe it's the female archer who appears in the opening credits of the show as a team member despite having not appeared in the actual show yet at that point.
182	** The team isn't completely assembled in story before episode 6, but the intro shows the whole team since episode 1.
183	** Right before the show's logo is viewed, each ''Young Justice'' episode's opening contains a quick display of clips which previews events that occur later in whichever episode is airing at the moment which is at least less spoilery because of the rapid speed the images flash on the screen.
184	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SpoilerOpening