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4[[quoteright:286:[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unexpected-character_super-smash-bros-brawl_816.png]]]]
5[[caption-width-right:286:[[VideoGame/MetalGear He]] just [[UnexpectedCharacter/SuperSmashBros opened up a whole can of worms]].]]
6
7->''"I get a lot of new character requests from all over the world, and there are quite an array of Nintendo characters. But I can say, pretty much no one imagined this character would join the battle."''
8-->-- '''Creator/MasahiroSakurai''' on the inclusion of VideoGame/WiiFit Trainer, ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU''. As players can attest to, [[UnexpectedCharacter/SuperSmashBros this is far from being the only character in the series that fits that description]].
9
10Normally when time comes for a sequel or adaptation of a franchise, you can have a pretty good idea of who to expect in the returning cast. TheHero, TheLancer, the EnsembleDarkhorse, no one is surprised by their return. However, creators may want to shake things up and include less obvious characters. They could be a OneSceneWonder, someone who had succumbed to ChuckCunninghamSyndrome, simply a LivingProp, a JokeCharacter, or even someone from outside the franchise.
11
12In video games, particularly {{Mascot Fighter}}s, Kart Racers, and other {{Massive Multiplayer Crossover}}s, this can also include characters from games that were obscure or [[NoExportForYou never left their home country]], or games whose genre puts them outside that game's purview. Ironically common examples of the latter two include characters from a nonviolent game (or with a nonviolent role in the game) appearing as combatants, or a pilot/driver stepping out of their machine and showing they're just as competent on foot, if not moreso. Audience members have this type of reaction to most [[GuestFighter Guest Fighters]], by nature of coming from separate works and franchises.
13
14Sometimes these character choices are praised, bringing in a previously unknown character to recent audiences, but other times the choice can be seen as a gimmick to increase sales. In video games, these characters are also sometimes accused of "stealing" a character slot, especially if a more important or popular character is missing from the game. Very often, it can increase interest if not sales [[ColbertBump in the unexpected addition]], which is actually pretty sound business sense.
15
16The trope most closely tied to the Unexpected Character reaction is the GenreRefugee, a character that is from a genre that is completely different from the genre of the show. Genre Refugees need not be pre-existing characters, however, and may not shock an audience depending on what the show builds to before the Refugee shows up. Still, if a show is strongly formulaic fantasy series, seeing Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo show up will always be a shock.
17
18See also HeroOfAnotherStory.
19
20''Remember, Administrivia/ExamplesAreNotRecent.''
21
22----
23
24!!Example subpages:
25[[index]]
26* UnexpectedCharacter/AnimeAndManga
27* UnexpectedCharacter/FanWorks
28* [[UnexpectedCharacter/AnimatedFilms Films — Animated]]
29* [[UnexpectedCharacter/LiveActionFilms Films — Live Action]]
30* UnexpectedCharacter/LiveActionTV
31* UnexpectedCharacter/VideoGames
32* UnexpectedCharacter/WesternAnimation
33[[/index]]
34
35!!Other examples:
36
37[[foldercontrol]]
38
39[[folder:Advertising]]
40* A Cheetos commercial back in the late 90s features Chester Cheetah in a Cheetos factory about to dive in a huge vat of the snack food, before a director yells cut, revealing this is all just a set, and they bring in Chester's stunt double, who is just someone wearing a cheap Chester Cheetah costume. After the dive into the vat, the stunt double pulls off the mask, revealing himself to be none other than WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck!
41* In 2022, Creator/DisneyChannel debuted [[https://youtu.be/ilPEQCuQCDQ an interstitial/music video]] about sidekick/comic relief characters in their animated TV shows. Among such characters from the channel’s then-current/recent animated Disney Channel shows were some legacy characters, such as [[WesternAnimation/KimPossible Rufus]] and even [[WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}} Lexington]], the last of whom notably being the only Disney Afternoon character featured in the music video (at least in his original incarnation).
42** Similarly, a later [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_2KEvnwKDQ music video]] shone the spotlight on Disney Channel's various villains. Similarly to the above-mentioned video, we get appearances from [[WesternAnimation/KimPossible Shego, Dr. Drakken]], [[WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong the Huntsman]], [[WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}} David Xanatos]], [[WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers Fat Cat]], [[WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian Dark Lord Chuckles]], and so on. Also, [[WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder Killbot 86]] makes a speaking appearance despite being a very minor villain in his home series.
43[[/folder]]
44
45[[folder:Animation]]
46* The first season of ''Animation/FlowerAngel'' features a pair of {{crossover}} episodes that are both focused on a certain character becoming a fairy after entering the ''Flower Angel'' world and being attracted to a piano-playing boy. Xia An'an mistakes that character for the fairy she has to capture. Who is that character? ''Music/{{Vocaloid}}'''s own Music/HatsuneMiku, of all people. Besides crossovers generally being alien to ''Flower Angel'', Taomee (the company that makes ''Flower Angel'') got the permission of ''Vocaloid'' company Crypton to use Miku, despite the show being created in China where copyright infringement is second nature to everyone, in a show that was already a [[TheMockbuster mockbuster]] of ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' to an extent to begin with.
47[[/folder]]
48
49[[folder:Comic Books]]
50* ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' prog 2183 ended with a teaser of ComicBook/JudgeAnderson announcing "You'll never guess who's coming to prog 2184!" She was right; nobody expected [[ComicBook/TheGrievousJourneyOfIchabodAzrael Ichabod Azrael]] to appear in next week's ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' story. And he wasn't even the only unexpected character; was ''anybody'' expecting Shako the polar bear to show up later?
51* Fans of ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' were taken off-guard learning that Breezie the Hedgehog, a character from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', was going to make her debut in issue #268, which began an adaptation of ''VideoGame/SonicTheFighters''. The appearance of DummiedOut character Honey the Cat in the same storyline? Not so much.
52* ''ComicBook/AgeOfUltron'', a RedSkiesCrossover, migrates Angela, a Creator/NeilGaiman exclusive character, who was previously part of the ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'' supporting cast, into the Franchise/MarvelUniverse.
53* ''ComicBook/AvengersUndercover'' managed to shock ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' fans with [[spoiler:the sudden resurrection of Alex Wilder.]]
54* ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal'' brings [[spoiler: [[ComicBook/TheSandman1989 Dream of the Endless]]]] back into the main DC continuity.
55* It's safe to say that, before the leaks, no one expected Dr. Manhattan from ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' to appear in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth''.
56** A later Rebirth era event, ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueVsSuicideSquad'', has this to a lesser extent. While nowhere near as unexpected as Manhattan, the appearance of ''ComicBook/{{Legion|OfSuperHeroes}}'' villain Emerald Empress was rather unexpected, given that she is not one prone to being the problem of 20/21st century heroes in their home eras.
57* ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'': It's safe to say that nobody expected [[spoiler:the Delgado Master]] to turn up as the final villain in the Twelfth Doctor's "Seventies Earth vacation" arc, let alone get killed off at the end of it.
58* ''ComicBook/DoctorWhoTitan'' comics:
59** The Eleventh Doctor Year Two comics reintroduced NinetiesAntiHero Abslom Daak from the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic strip. A doubly unexpected character as he hadn't been used for many years, and also because he came from a completely different [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] continuity with different rightsholders.
60** The Third Doctor comics did this twice over — first the Second Doctor suddenly appears, and then he turns out not to be the Second Doctor at all, but his believed-dead human MadScientist CriminalDoppelganger Ramón Salamander, from the TV story [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E4TheEnemyOfTheWorld "The Enemy of the World"]].
61** ''[[ComicBook/DoctorWhoTheLostDimension The Lost Dimension]]'': Nobody was expecting Jenny, the Doctor's OppositeSexClone from [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter "The Doctor's Daughter"]], to play a major role in the series, her first appearance in any medium since her solitary TV episode a full decade before.
62* ''ComicBook/DoubleDuck'' is mostly a spy series set in the ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse, and much more serious than the older PIA stories. So it was a genuine surprise when, in "Enemies as Usual", the mysterious benefactor that [[spoiler:had started funding the Agency at the end of "Reboot"]] was revealed to be [[spoiler:John Davison Rockerduck]].
63* ''Franchise/GIJoe'':
64** ''ComicBook/GIJoe2016'' stars such heroes as Roadblock, Scarlett, Snake Eyes...and ''[[HumongousMecha Skywarp]]''. Yes, a ''[[TokenEvilTeammate villain]]'' from an ''[[Franchise/{{Transformers}} entirely different franchise]]''. ItMakesSenseInContext; during ''[[ComicBook/Revolution2016 Revolution]]'', the team rescued him from a government holding facility, and he's working with them until they can restore his teleportation powers.
65** Late in the run of ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel'', the Joe team's Ninja Force encountered a group of Red Ninjas with a mysterious leader. A few issues later, the leader was revealed to be [[spoiler:Firefly]]. This was supposed to be a surprise as the character was supposed to be dead at the time, but it was kind of ruined by the fact that Creator/{{Hasbro}} had just introduced a new action figure of the character.
66* ''ComicBook/TheGoldenAge'':
67** In canon, Bob Daley/Fatman is a BumblingSidekick who failed to impress fans and was quietly retired, but he gets to be a nuanced main character here.
68** Great Defender (a vitamin-enhanced FlyingBrick, minus the flying part, whose series ended in 1944 and who doesn't even have a Wikipedia page) appears noticeably in three panels and even gets a line.
69** Captain Triumph has rarely appeared since the Golden Age of Superheroes except to be an AffectionateParody, but he is a main character and is treated very seriously.
70** Lots of ''Silver'' Age heroes appear in the fourth issue and most only cameo in one panel, but FlyingBrick Captain Comet gets the kind of role that would normally be reserved for Superman.
71** In the main continuity, Miss America is one of the less prominent ComicBook/{{Freedom Fighters|DCComics}}, but she gets a secondary role here, while her better known teammates like Black Condor, Phantom Lady, and the Ray only get cameos.
72** Dan the Dyna-Mite is an obscure sidekick to an obscure hero, but he enters the spotlight after being chosen to have his powers enhanced and become TheFace of the movement Tex Thompson is building, [[spoiler:as well as the victim of a body snatching that lets the villains use those new powers.]]
73** In a story where very few supervillains appear, Injustice Society members Harlequin, Gambler, Psycho Pirate, and Fiddler appear in the background of one panel featuring gathered ''heroes'' (presumably, they accepted Thompson's amnesty offer like Tigress and Sportsmaster).
74* ''ComicBook/GothamAcademy'': Nobody would have expected one of the villains of the ''Annual'' to be a time-travelling Derek "Blight" Powers from the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' potential future.
75* The ComicBook/New52 revival of ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational'' has Godiva, a very minor DC superheroine mostly remembered for being in the ComicBook/GlobalGuardians, a really minor DC superteam.
76* ''ComicBook/MightyMorphinPowerRangersShatteredGrid'' boasted featuring every Power Ranger series. Having ''WebVideo/PowerRangersHyperForce'' was a big surprise when it was announced during a session. What surprised a lot of people was when ''Series/PowerRangersBeastMorphers'' ended up showing up, especially since the series hadn't been announced when it started!
77* ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyTransformersFriendshipInDisguise'':
78** Almost all of the Decepticons who appear as major antagonists in the first mini-series are G1 staples (Starscream, the Constructicons, Shockwave, Soundwave, the Insecticons, and of course, Megatron), so it's quite a surprise to see Misfire at all, let alone as the main antagonist of issue 3's second story. He even brought the Rainmakers with him!
79** The Insecticons are the main threat of "Strength in Numbers". That includes the toyline-exclusive Insecticons-- Venom, Barrage, Chop Shop and Ransack.
80** On the Autobot side of things, while staples like Grimlock, Arcee or even the most recent Windblade are expected, no one would have guessed Gauge, a character original to the [[ComicBook/Transformers2019 2019 IDW continuity]], as one the main characters to one of the stories. She even manages to take on ''Shockwave'' along Pinkie Pie.
81** ''The Magic of Cybertron'' has plenty more surprises in store. In the first story of issue 1 alone, we get [[EnsembleDarkHorse fan-favorite]] ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' Decepticon Breakdown, Airachnid from the same show, the ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersCyberverse Cyberverse]]'' iterations of both Shadow Striker and Slipstream, and minor characters ranging from Spinister, Skytread and Fracas to Mindwipe and Skullcruncher!
82** Not to be outdone, the MLP cast gets a case of this in "A Real Mother" through Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty, Scootaloo's aunts, who were [[OneShotCharacter One-Shot Characters]] in the cartoon but get ADayInTheLimelight fighting Killmaster (who himself is a case of this, as this is his first appearance outside of the IDW 2005 continuity, where he was first introduced) with Arcee and Greenlight.
83** "One-Trick Pony" brings in Wildwheel, a Decepticon introduced in the ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersCyberverse Cyberverse]]'' continuity family (and exclusive to it until now). Then the story tops itself with two more surprise characters-- Quickstrike and Skids. Skids is the less unexpected of the two-- while he only showed up in two episodes of the G1 cartoon, he's still a G1 character so he's at least understandable. Quickstrike, however, is a ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' character (and not even a particularly popular one).
84** "The Beauty of Cybertron" brings in a true fan-favorite bot in all his good-looking glitz and glamour... [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Knockout]]!
85* ''ComicBook/NewSuperMan'' #8 ended with the mysterious prototype "Super-Man Zero" talking to a mysterious figure who boasted that, without him, there would be no super heroes. That man? [[spoiler:Ching Lung, the YellowPeril Chinese stereotyped supervillain that was on the cover of the ''very first issue'' of ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics''.]]
86* ''The Order'' began in 2014 as a story about various historical and literary characters resisting the infestation of Earth by [[EldritchAbomination Wyrms]]. Then, in a 2018 story, they got attacked by Armoured Gideon, a character last seen in his eponymous series 23 years beforehand.
87* ''ComicBook/PathfinderWorldscape'' is a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover event featuring several properties licensed by [[Creator/DynamiteComics Dynamite Entertainment]], yet two {{Public Domain Character}}s with no relation to these properties play a big part in the story: Fantomah and Thun'Da, both of which are extremely obscure comic book characters from the 40s and 50s respectively that few people have even heard of, let alone expect to be featured in a event like this.
88* ''ComicBook/RedRobin'': The Wild Huntsman, a former ComicBook/GlobalGuardians member who'd been in limbo and was last seen disappearing into the mists of time, shows up working with security at a museum in Germany. His presence even surprises Tim.
89* ''[[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman Reign of the Supermen]]'': [[spoiler:Superman]], ironically, is this. The story was about four mysterious figures claiming to be Superman returned from the dead [[spoiler:except, not really]] and yet, when [[spoiler:the Cyborg Superman]] turned out to be the villain of the piece, [[spoiler:the real Superman emerged from the Fortress without his powers]] and saved the day.
90* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsUnite'' managed to surprise fans by revealing not only Sticks the Badger of ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' and VideoGame/MegaManX, but also a number of various SEGA and Capcom video game franchises. One of them being [[spoiler:''Franchise/StreetFighter'', which has been licensed to UDON for over a decade.]]
91* Given how [[TheScrappy widely disliked both the character and the show they hailed from was]] (including by [[CreatorsPest one of the co-creators]]), it's safe to say no one expected ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIDW'' to bring [[spoiler:[[Series/NinjaTurtlesTheNextMutation Venus de Milo]]]] back (albeit significantly overhauled).
92* ''ComicBook/TrinityWar'': Nobody expected [[spoiler:the Crime Syndicate from Earth-3]] to show up as the series' ultimate villains.
93* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel
94** At every issue of ''ComicBook/UltimateFF''. But the last one takes the cake: [[spoiler:Miles Morhames? The Ultimate ComicBook/SpiderHam?]]
95** In the later third of ''Ultimate Power'', a mishap causes [[spoiler:the ''original'' Squadron Supreme to show up.]]
96** Who would have expected the fight between Wolverine and Hulk to be interrupted by Ultimate [[spoiler:ComicBook/SheHulk]]?
97* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
98** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': During the "Witch and the Warrior" Circe's villain team contained several long retired villains ''and'' heroes, including Penny Dreadful (who'd been acting as a government agent and whose switch back to villainy was never explained), Moonbow (a former casual hero who'd quit to have a normal life), and Vicki Grant (former ComicBook/DialHForHero user, now with a Villain Dial).
99** ''ComicBook/SensationalWonderWoman'': ''Man's World Momager'' ends with the woman who's been following Wonder Woman revealed to be none other than [[spoiler:Myndi Mayer]], who hasn't been in any comic since [[spoiler:her suicide]] back in the 1980s.
100** ''ComicBook/AmazonsAttack'': At the end it is revealed that the plot was orchestrated by [[spoiler:Granny Goodness, a character who had almost no previous connection to Wondy.]]
101* This happens with some frequency in the chilean comic ''Zombies en la Moneda'', since many real chileans belonging to the world of politics and entertainment appear in it, but without a doubt the best example is the appearance at the end of the fifth volume -and as the BigBad- by none other than [[spoiler: UsefulNotes/AugustoPinochet,]] something truly surprising, especially since, both in real life and in the comic, he had already been dead for more than 10 years (on the other hand, it's a zombie comic...)
102[[/folder]]
103
104[[folder:Literature]]
105* Used towards the end of the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series. Arbron and Loren, two minor characters who hadn't been seen in years and had little reason to return again, both made surprise reappearances. Weirder still, while Arbron's fate was neatly tied up in the epilogue, Loren wasn't addressed at all, making her a weird case of this character type meeting WhatHappenedToTheMouse
106* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia: Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' had the now rather infamous scene in which Father Christmas [[DeusExMachina pops up out of nowhere]] to give the Pevensie siblings their Christmas presents. Despite being set in a fantasy world, his appearance in Narnia is still a little jarring, and it's worth saying that he's never again seen or mentioned in any of the other books.
107* ''Literature/CrescentCity'': Many readers were surprised by the protagonists meeting up with the Inner Circle at the end of ''House of Sky and Breath''. While Sarah J. Maas has previously made references to her other series in her works, and Rhysand and Feyre had cameo appearances in ''Kingdom of Ash'' (Aelin likewise had a tiny cameo in the corresponding scene in ''A Court of Silver Flames''), this was the first time there had been such a major crossover between the casts of two of Maas' series, with their interactions indicating this isn't just going to be a mere cameo.
108* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': The 17th book, ''Literature/{{Battle Ground|2020}}'', features appearances from nearly every significant major and minor character from throughout the series... and then about a third of the way through chooses to introduce [[spoiler:[[VampireMonarch Drakul, King of the Black Court]]]], something that no one was expecting since up until this point he'd only been mentioned a few times but [[TheGhost never seen]].
109* [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Sherlock Holmes and Watson]] (though not named, it's obviously them) appear in a segment of a ''Literature/FinalDestination'' novel in UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain.
110* ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' likes to reintroduce minor characters or ones that have otherwise been PutOnABus to play major roles much later. [[spoiler:Sanian]] reappears in ''Sabbat Martyr'', [[spoiler:Sturnn]] reappears in ''Traitor General'', and [[spoiler:Agun Soric]] reappears in ''Only In Death''. It also works in reverse for [[Creator/DanAbnett the author]]'s other books set earlier in the timeline. Heldane and Lilith have minor roles in ''Literature/{{Eisenhorn}}'' and ''Literature/{{Ravenor}}'' respectively, both before they've achieved the rank of Inquisitor.
111* Though it's hardly a surprise these days, the original readers of Walter Scott's ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' would ''not'' have been expecting an appearance from Robin Hood, who spends the first half of the book under an assumed name (back then, "Locksley" would not have been immediately recognizable as one of his aliases).
112* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Creator/GeorgeRRMartin has a tendency to take minor or antagonistic characters and make them point-of-view characters in later books.
113* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'':
114** ''[[Literature/StarWarsAhsoka Ahsoka]]'': The book has seven sections with grey pages. In one of them, [[spoiler:Obi-Wan Kenobi makes a surprise appearance meditating on Tatooine. Another shows Anakin Skywalker just before he first met Ahsoka.]]
115** ''Literature/TalesFromAGalaxyFarFarAwayVolumeOneAliens'': The last story in the collection, "The Crimson Corsair and the Lost Treasure of Count Dooku", has the treasure turn out to be [[spoiler:Kix, the medic from the 501st Legion in ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'', who was [[HumanPopsicle cryo-frozen]] after finding out about Order 66 and was being taken to be interrogated by Count Dooku when the ship carrying him was attacked and crash-landed on a remote world.]] No one in or out of universe was expecting ''that''.
116** The [[AllThereInTheManual reference book]] ''Droidography'' is narrated by R0-GR, the Battle Droid from ''WesternAnimation/LEGOStarWarsTheFreemakerAdventures'', a series with [[LooseCanon mostly ambiguous]] canonical standing, and also features M-OC, one of the main antagonists of Season 2, effectively [[CanonImmigrant canonizing]] both characters.
117* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', book 2, ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'': While having humans travel from Shardworld to Shardworld is a known event, having [[spoiler:Nightblood, the TalkingWeapon from ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'']] do so is quite another thing.
118* In the fifth book of ''Literature/VenusPrime'', Sir Randolph Mays, the insufferable PompousPoliticalPundit who seems so hellbent upon exposing the Free Spirit, turns out to be [[spoiler:William Laird, the ''leader'' of the Free Spirit]].
119* ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
120** Lots of unexpected characters pop up in the ''[[Literature/WarriorCatsOmenOfTheStars Omen of the Stars]]'' finale ''The Last Hope'', such as Redtail, Raggedstar and Mosskit. But almost nobody was expecting Brambleberry's cameo appearance at the beginning where she is one of the first cats to ever successfully give Jayfeather a lecture.
121** When ''[[Literature/WarriorCatsDawnOfTheClans Dawn of the Clans]]'', a {{prequel}} series dealing with the founding and early days of the five Clans was announced, lots of theories were made about appearances from the Clan Founders (Thunder, River Ripple, Wind Runner, Tall Shadow, and Clear Sky), original medicine cats (Cloudspots, Dapplepelt, Mothflight, and Pebbleheart), and a few other characters mentioned in the field guides (Gorsefur, Owleyes, Lightningtail, etc.). However, almost nobody predicted Graywing the Wise (a character whose sole mention in the series beforehand was being credited with creating a few [=WindClan=] battle strategies in ''Battles of the Clans'') showing up, let alone his role as the (initial) main character of the arc. To a lesser extent, few expected Half Moon and Lion's Roar to appear in the arc, but they ended up being supporting characters in ''The Sun Trail''.
122** The ninth Super Edition. Usually Super Editions star major characters, and are always about leaders or medicine cats. The ninth Super Edition was revealed to be ''Hawkwing's Journey'', focusing on a cat nobody had ever heard of. It turned out later that he had previously appeared in a novella, ''Ravenpaw's Farewell'', as a [=SkyClan=] apprentice who shows up one time and speaks one word.
123* The ''Franchise/{{Whoniverse}}'' book ''Literature/TimeLordFairyTales'' pulls this off twice by springing a surprise character on the reader well after a story is underway and the protagonists' plight has been established; moreover, they go on to play supporting roles in the action, albeit important ones. In "Helena and the Beast", it's [[spoiler:the Twelfth Doctor]]; in "The Grief Collector", it's [[spoiler:the Tenth]]. Also, while many familiar Whoniverse villains turn up in these {{Twice Told Tale}}s, the presence of [[spoiler:the Nimon, from one of the classic series' [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E5TheHornsOfNimon campiest serials]]]] in "Jack and the Wormhole" will likely surprise those who don't remember their televised appearance and recognize the new story's similar setup.
124[[/folder]]
125
126[[folder:Music]]
127* Large-scale tours and festivals are bound to have this. Obviously everyone will know the headlining act, but when an unsigned band makes the line-up, people tend to scratch their heads (especially if they play the main-stage). For instance, Download Fest 2011, main stage with the likes of Music/DefLeppard, Music/SystemOfADown, Music/LinkinPark and... Music/ThePrettyReckless?
128** One of the strangest examples has to be British politician Jeremy Corbyn (sometimes considered Britain's answer to Bernie Sanders) showing up at a small festival in Merseyside headlined by Music/TheLibertines to give a short speech...and getting a huge cheer from the crowd!
129* In a media crossover-example, {{Rhythm Game}}s probably get this sort of reaction when they announce the new setlist for their next title, such as with ''[[VideoGame/RockBand Rock Band 3]]'' ("Music/TheDoors, Music/LynyrdSkynyrd, Music/EltonJohn and... Phoenix?"[[note]]The band's logo was used on the back of the case alongside names like Music/{{Queen}}, Music/JimiHendrix, Music/TheWho and the Music/{{Ramones}}[[/note]]).
130* One such example is ''VideoGame/JustDance'', in which Top 40 tunes by artists such as Music/KatyPerry, Music/OneDirection and Music/NickiMinaj co-exist alongside the likes of the VideoGame/{{Tetris}} theme, the William Tell Overture, and the [[Music/{{Vocaloid}} Hatsune Miku]] [[CoveredUp cover]] of Ievan Polkka.
131* Rapper B.o.B. often has this with his featured artists, which have included Hayley Williams of Music/{{Paramore}}, Rivers Cuomo of Music/{{Weezer}}, and Music/TaylorSwift.
132* Music/KanyeWest's albums usually have at least one.
133** ''The College Dropout'' had Jamie Foxx, poet J.Ivy and was introduced by Creator/BernieMac (playing Kanye's high school principal).
134** ''Late Registration'' had both Mac and Foxx, but also included Music/LupeFiasco (his appearance on "Touch the Sky" was his mainstream breakthrough), Adam Levine of Music/Maroon5, and, perhaps most surprisingly, given Kanye's mentor and boss Music/JayZ was feuding with him at the time, Music/{{Nas}} on "We Major".
135** ''Graduation'' had Chris Martin of Music/{{Coldplay}}.
136** ''808s and Heartbreak'' had two of Kanye's previous collaborators who few expected to fit with the album's style, namely rappers Young Jeezy and Music/LilWayne.
137** ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' had Music/EltonJohn, Music/LaRoux, Fergie (of Music/TheBlackEyedPeas), Creator/ChrisRock, Music/NickiMinaj and Music/BonIver (although the last two are only unexpected because at the time few had heard of them or knew what to expect).
138** ''Watch the Throne'' had [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] Music/OtisRedding! And Curtis Mayfield (both posthumously). And (although she is definitely still alive) Elly Jackson of Music/LaRoux and Frank Ocean of OFWGKTA fame.
139** ''Cruel Summer'' had most of its' supporting cast like this - Music/RKelly, Ma$e, Marsha Ambrosius, Chief Keef...
140** ''Yeezus'' had King Louie and Assassin.
141** Kanye is also an Unexpected Character on other people's works. Few expected his collaborations with Music/ThirtySecondsToMars, Music/KatyPerry or {{Music/Madonna}}.
142* Music/JayZ and Music/LinkinPark collaborated for the ''Collision Course'' mash-up. Few could've expected one of the biggest rappers in the world working with one of the biggest rock bands in the world.
143* Rapper A$AP Rocky's debut 'Long-Live-A$AP' featured Music/{{Drake}}, 2 Chainz, Music/KendrickLamar and... Florence Welch (of Music/FlorenceAndTheMachine).
144* Childish Gambino's "Real Estate" suddenly features an ending rap outro by... Creator/TinaFey.
145* Music/CobraStarship's "Good Girls Go Bad" featured ''Literature/GossipGirl'' star Leighton Meester.
146* Music/{{Drake}}'s "All Me" includes an introduction by... Creator/AzizAnsari.
147* Music/NineInchNails turned some heads when the guest list for ''Hesitation Marks'' included Lindsey Buckingham of Music/FleetwoodMac.
148* For some appearances in 1994 (including on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'') Music/TomPetty's drummer was Music/DaveGrohl, previously of Music/{{Nirvana}}. Since that time Grohl has collaborated with many musicians from Petty's generation but at the time it must have been an unexpected lineup.
149* Music/WithinTemptation's album ''Hydra'' featues, of all people, Xzibit as a guest artist.
150* Music/QueensOfTheStoneAge had [[Music/TheStrokes Julian Casablancas]] guest on ''Era Vulgaris'' and [[Music/EltonJohn Elton FREAKING John]], [[QuestionableCasting of all people]], appear on another album.
151* ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjayPart1'' soundtrack, curated by Music/{{Lorde}}, features mainly mordern female electronic/pop vocalists such as herself along with Music/{{CHVRCHES}}, Music/CharliXCX, Music/ToveLo, Music/ArianaGrande, Bat For Lashes, Tinashe, HAIM, and... Grace Jones? Also rappers [[Music/ATribeCalledQuest Q-Tip]] and Pusha-T appear in Stromae's "Meltdown" alongside Lorde and HAIM for an odd-yet-compelling collaboration. Also featured, perhaps most surprisingly of all given Lorde's feud with Diplo at the time, was Major Lazer featuring Ariana Grande with "All My Love".
152* Few could've expected Music/TaylorSwift and Music/KendrickLamar to ever collaborate on a song together, but indeed they did in former's song "Bad Blood".
153* Music/GaMetal has remixed some pretty weird songs, for example, there's a medley of tunes from ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' and, even stranger, the FinalBoss theme from ''VideoGame/McDonaldsTreasureLandAdventure'' of all things. Fittingly, the latter one was done as an AprilFoolsDay special, but it is a real song.
154* Music/TheLonelyIsland collaborates with a lot of artists, and some of them, like Music/TPain or Creator/JackBlack, are pretty understandable. Then you get to ones like Music/MichaelBolton, Music/LinkinPark, Music/{{Robyn}}, and, in ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'', Music/TeganAndSara.
155* Phase 5 of the Music/{{Gorillaz}} starts with Murdoc in jail and replaced by Ace, the leader of the Gangrene Gang. Yes, ''[[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls that]]'' Gangrene Gang.
156* When the group The Highwomen is announced, the line up include: Amanda Shires, a critical darling of the Alternive Country scene and one half of a CreatorCouple with Jason Isbell; Natalie Hemby, a critical acclaim songwriter for many country songs but whose solo career didn't really took off; Brandi Carlile, a lesbian critical acclaim singer-songwriter of the Americana-Alternative Country scene... and Music/MarenMorris, a pop-country superstar who have received a mixed reception among country traditionalists.
157* Pretty much nobody expected Music/JasonMraz to appear on a song by [[Music/TheAlanParsonsProject Alan Parsons]], but it happened in the song "Miracle" off of the album ''The Secret''.
158* Music/{{Sabaton}}: Creator/{{Yarnhub}}'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSUclZ6Ma28 story video for "Christmas Truce"]] has a couple shots of a German soldier with a toothbrush mustache, clearly meant to be UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, trying to tattle on the truce to the generals before being hit in the head with a stray soccer ball, then grumpily observing the proceedings from the sidelines.
159[[/folder]]
160
161[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
162* Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s annual Wrestling/RoyalRumble pretty much always features Unexpected Characters in various forms. You're pretty much guaranteed to see one or two returning Legends making a one-off appearance (e.g. Wrestling/HonkyTonkMan in 2000, DieselWrestling/KevinNash in 2011 and 2014, Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage in 2015, Wrestling/JeffJarrett in 2019), there are bound to be one or two main roster wrestlers making an unannounced return (e.g. Wrestling/JohnCena in 2008, Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}} in 2010), and every now and then there are entrants who are unexpected because they generally don't compete against the main male roster (e.g. Wrestling/BethPhoenix in 2010, El Torito in 2014, Wrestling/NiaJax in 2019). Retired or semi-retired wrestlers serving as ringside commentators for the Rumble are sometimes unexpectedly entered into the match, usually resulting in their returning to the announce booth once they're eliminated (e.g. Wrestling/JerryLawler in 1996 and 2012, Wrestling/MichaelCole in 2012, Wrestling/{{J|ohnBradshawLayfield}}BL in 2014). One of the most unexpected (and bemoaned) characters in Rumble history was ''Creator/DrewCarey'' in the 2001 match. However, arguably the two most shocking (or at the very least, surreal) entries, despite the countless rumors, reports, and, in the case of the former, even a statement from the Wrestling/ImpactWrestling website all but outright telling us it would happen, were the debut of [[spoiler:Wrestling/AJStyles]] at the 2016 Royal Rumble in Orlando and the return of [[spoiler:Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}]] after a seemingly CareerEndingInjury at the 2020 Royal Rumble in Houston.
163* February 22, 2016, as Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon prepares to accept an award given to her by her [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon father]], none other than her [[Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon brother]] comes out to thunderous applause. Easily one of the best pops of the year.
164* Wrestling/LexLuger made his WCW return in 1995 this way, appearing on the debut episode of ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'' unannounced. The shock from the audience was genuine: very few people realized that his WWF contract had lapsed the night prior after competing in a house show.
165* Intense Wrestling Inc was the only promotion operating in [[Wrestling/JillianHall Macaela Mercedes]]'s hometown of Cincinnati Ohio. It announced ahead of time that IWI would be booking talent from Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. So when she made her debut near the end of 2002 and was matched against La Tigresa, a wrestler she knew nothing about besides being from Puerto Rico, she was caught off guard. Even if they had mentioned wrestlers from Puerto Rico, Tigresa wouldn't have been on most people's radar stateside, given women's wrestling had virtually vanished from the island following her arrest four years prior for a smuggling case that was expected to keep her behind bars for decades.
166* ''Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} [=JoshiMania=] Night III'', December 4, 2011, was supposed to have started with The Throwbacks (Wrestling/DasherHatfield and Sugar Dunkerton) vs. Los Ice Creams (Ice Cream Jr. and El Hijo del Ice Cream), but Sugar was not there for some unannounced reason. As was standard practice in CHIKARA, names were drawn from a hat for a replacement partner for Dasher. Kwang (Savio Vega's masked ninja gimmick from 1994-1995 WWE. References to Kwang and Max Moon [Paul Diamond] are {{Running Gag}}s in CHIKARA.) was drawn, but he was not there. Then they drew Wrestling/KellyKelly, who was also not there. (And [[TakeThatScrappy the crowd booed when Kelly Kelly's name was drawn.]]) Then they drew Saturyne's name, who ''was'' there, making her surprise CHIKARA debut in only her second match ever, though someone in the crowd asked, "Wrestling/PerrySaturn?"
167* 9/19/2016, WWE on Creator/{{ESPN}} live in Bristol Connecticut...with Adam Cole? ''Wrestling/RingOfHonor World Champion'' Wrestling/AdamCole?
168* Similar to Luger, [[Wrestling/DeanAmbrose Jon Moxley]] showed up at Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling[='=]s ''Double or Nothing'' event unannounced, just a month after his contract with WWE (where he wrestled as Dean Ambrose) expired. Given that his exit likely came with a no-compete clause, many thought Moxley would sit out and wait before making the jump to AEW. Some even thought Moxley would actually go back to WWE after a hiatus. Even fewer expected him to debut the way he did, running interference in the Wrestling/ChrisJericho vs. Wrestling/KennyOmega match; most people assumed if he appeared it would be either as the surprise entrant in the Casino Battle Royal or as the replacement for [[Wrestling/AdrianNeville PAC]] in the Adam Page match. Instead Page ''was'' the surprise entrant in the Casino Battle Royal, with many theories saying that Moxley was supposed to be in that position before PAC's drop-out left Page without an opponent.
169* On the May 17, 2004 ''Raw'', [[Characters/WWECommentators Jonathan Coachman]] was belittling [[Wrestling/NickDinsmore Eugene]], telling Eugene that he had no friends and that he should leave. Eugene started walking to the back. Right before he got to the curtain, [[IncomingHam "IF YOU SMELLLL......!"]] [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] walked out to everyone's surprise, with Eugene [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee marking out]]. The Rock led Eugene back to the ring, acknowledged ring announcer Lilian Garcia, Wrestling/JimRoss, Wrestling/JerryLawler and others, and ran down Coach, offering up a new insult, "popcorn fart."
170* On Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin's ''Broken Skull Sessions'' podcast for the WWE Network, just about nobody expected that he would be able to land Wrestling/ChrisJericho as a guest. This marked the first time that a wrestler actively signed to Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling has appeared on a WWE product[[note]]barring that one time Wrestling/BrittBaker was spotted in the audience of [[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]][[/note]]. Even WWE were fully aware of how crazy it felt; it was first teased on AprilFoolsDay, before being announced on April 2, 2021 as if to say "yes, it's real".
171* For the better part of a decade, ''nobody'' expected to see Wrestling/CMPunk [[CrossingTheBurntBridge in a WWE ring again]]. That is, until ''[[Wrestling/SurvivorSeries Survivor Series (2023)]]'' when "[[Music/LivingColour Cult of Personality]]" hit at the end of the show, causing the [[AHeroToHisHometown Chicago crowd]] to come ''completely unglued''. [[CueTheFlyingPigs Everybody knew this too]], declared by Wrestling/TripleH himself as a "[[https://twitter.com/TripleH/status/1728631658054836491 Mighty cold day in hell]]".
172[[/folder]]
173
174[[folder:Theme Parks]]
175* Although most of the attractions at the Ride/DisneyThemeParks are either original properties (such as ''Ride/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' or ''Ride/TheHauntedMansion'') or based on a Disney property. However, there are some exceptions:
176** The first ''Ride/StarTours'' opened at Disneyland in 1987, being the first ride to be based on a distinctly non-Disney property. Disney bought Creator/{{Lucasfilm}} in 2012, undoing this trope (at which point ''Star Tours'' had become a staple at Disneyland and Walt Disney World anyway), but for 25 years it remained as a non-Disney ride.
177** The first ''Ride/TheTwilightZoneTowerOfTerror'' opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios (then Disney-Creator/{{MGM}} Studios) in 1994 to help bring more visitors the park. It opened in Disney's California Adventure to help with the same problem in 2004, and later in Disneyland Paris. Unlike Lucasfilm, the franchise was never bought from CBS, which means that they have to license it every year (which is why Tokyo's ''Tower Of Terror'' is not based on ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' - the series was never as popular in Japan as in the US and Europe), and also that it remains one of the only non-Disney attractions (the other being ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' in Tokyo Disney Sea).
178*** The California version of the ride has since become ''Ride/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyMissionBreakout'', which in and of itself is a bizarre choice. The film was a breakout hit in 2014, but it was by no means the most popular Marvel property, and an odd choice to base Disney's ''first'' ever Disney-Marvel attraction on (before the [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014 film]], it would have been pushing it to call them a C- or D-list team). Many fans theorized that this was due to a dispute with Ride/UniversalStudios, who retained the theme-park rights for Marvel characters (''except'' the Guardians - it only specified the Avengers, Spider-Man, and the X-Men) within a radius around Universal Florida that included Walt Disney World, and that the renovation would eventually make it way to the other coast. However, other versions are unlikely to make the switch, as there are currently plans to build a ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' attraction in [=EPCOT=].
179** After ''Star Tours'' opened, the opening of ''Ride/IndianaJonesAdventure'' in Disneyland in 1995 was a tad less surprising. It also marked a stark style change for Adventureland, from the bright cheeriness that marked Walt's True-Nature films to the grittiness and realism of the Indiana Jones films: the design of the boats on ''Ride/JungleCruise'' changed to match the themeing of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye next door, and four years later, the ''Film/SwissFamilyRobinson'' Treehouse became the ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'' Treehouse. Like ''Franchise/StarWars'', Indiana Jones was included in the Lucasfilm purchase, and it was welcomed into the Disney family in 2012, by which time, the attraction had been replicated several times over the world, as well as other Indy-themed rides.
180** While the IP is indeed a Disney/Pixar one, Franchise/{{Cars}} Land at first seemed like an odd choice to be one of the focal points of Disney California Adventure's 2012 overhaul, given that the most recent ''Cars'' film, ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'', had been critically panned, and that the original ''Cars'' film is generally seen as one of Creator/{{Pixar}}'s weaker movies.[[note]]Though when considering just how popular the movies are with children, and the billions made from the merchandise, it's kind of justified.[[/note]] Nonetheless, Cars Land was a massive success, and the E-ticket ride, ''Radiator Springs Racers'', regularly has one of the longest lines in either Disneyland or DCA (at time of writing, 4 PM on a Thursday in March, ''6'' years after the ride opened, it currently has a 120 minute long line).
181** ''Pandora - The World of Avatar'' getting in over Beastly Kingdom as the replacement to Camp-Minnie-Mickey was a bit odd, and Disney would buy 21st Century Fox 5 years later.
182** The early days of ''Disney’s Hollywood Studios'' featured characters like ComicStrip/DickTracy, the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, and the Franchise/PowerRangers[[note]]Disney did own the rights to the Power Rangers franchise in the 2000s following their purchase of Saban. However, they sold off the property in 2010. The rights are currently owned by Creator/{{Hasbro}}.[[/note]]. There were also attractions based around ''Who Wants to be a Millionaire'' and ''American Idol''[[note]]Keep in mind that Disney didn't own the rights to the series at that time. American Idol was rebooted for Creator/{{ABC}} not long before the aforementioned 21st Century Fox purchase.[[/note]].
183** Stores found in Epcot’s World Showcase stock merchandise relating to works originating from the country they correspond to; leading to a wide variety of anime and game merchandise (including some that isn’t all too kid friendly...) in the Japan pavilion, for example, as well as Doctor Who items in the England pavilion.
184** Clarice, a one-off character from the 1952 WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale cartoon ''WesternAnimation/TwoChipsAndAMiss'', is a rare meetable character, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff partially due to her popularity in Japan]].
185[[/folder]]
186
187[[folder:TabletopGames]]
188* ''TabletopGame/VillainousRavensburger'':
189** Who expected the Horned King, the villain from [[WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron a movie Disney tries hard to pretend never happened]], to get included in a game like this?
190** Madame Masque. Every other character in ''Marvel Villainous'' thus far save M.O.D.O.K. (who has his own TV series on Hulu) had appeared in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. Madame Masque, conversely, has made almost no major non-comics appearances outside of Iron Man cartoons, so her inclusion is rather surprising.
191* The Toys/FunkoPop based boardgame ''Funkoverse'' has character sets with rosters pulling from fantasy and action series who've appeared in crossovers before, like Franchise/{{Batman}}, Literature/HarryPotter or Film/{{Jaws}}. Then there's completely out of left field choices like Series/TheGoldenGirls, Anime/{{Aggretsuko}} or the Kool-Aid Man.
192[[/folder]]
193
194[[folder:Toys]]
195* Occasionally the long-running ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' toy franchise will have a release that up and surprises everyone:
196** One very surprising release was a character named Heatwave in the "Hero Mashers Line." Heatwave shares a name with a ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRescueBots'' character who was on shelves at the time, so the Hero Masher instead being directly based on an obscure, Collector's Club-only character was completely unexpected. In this case, it was highly likely that said Heatwave got confused with the more recognizable one.
197** Less a "character" and more an "unexpected homage" but Rollbar's robot mode in the ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction'' is very clearly based on X-Brawn from ''Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'', a character who has had no representation of any sort for over a decade (unless one counts other versions of Brawn).
198** The ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersWarForCybertronTrilogy War For Cybertron Trilogy]]'' has made several surprising inclusions despite being another retread of ''[[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Generation 1]]'':
199*** A good portion of surprising inclusions in the toyline are merely unexpected headswaps of existing molds (which trades in their [[ShowAccuracyToyAccuracy accuracy to their original designs]]). Said unexpected headswaps include Crosshairs, [[ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers Rotorstorm]], Jackpot, and [[Anime/BeastWarsII Maximal Skywarp]].
200*** No one expected Bug Bite, a CanonImmigrant from ''WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGobots'', to make an appearance in ''Earthrise'', though the character is modeled after his [[WritingAroundTrademarks e-Hobby]] [[YouDontLookLikeYou design]] by being a PaletteSwap of Bumblebee and Cliffjumper. He would not be the only one, as the ''Kingdom'' Golden Disk Collection adds in fellow Go-Bot Road Ranger, who is also modeled after his e-Hobby design by being a PaletteSwap of Huffer.
201*** Another instance of an "unexpected homage" are the Micromasters Windstorm and Stingracer, which homage the Hurricane and Stinger from fellow Hasbro IP ''WesternAnimation/{{MASK}}''.
202*** No one expected ''Kingdom'', the third part of the trilogy, to feature the [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Maximals and Predacons]], especially since characters from the Beast Era have rarely interacted with the Autobots and Decepticons despite both occurring in the same continuity family. This would mark the first proper crossover between the two eras, as the subline does commemorate the show's 25th anniversary.
203*** The Pulse Con 2020 Poster for ''Kingdom'' had a couple of surprising inclusions. The first is Polar Claw, a [[ToylineExclusiveCharacter Toyline-exclusive Maximal]] despite the focus on show-only ''Beast Wars'' characters. The second is [[spoiler:Ultra Magnus, who had been killed off on Cybertron during the fourth episode of ''Siege'' [[SpoiledByTheMerchandise yet appears in his Earth Mode]][[note]][[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the show proper as he does not get resurrected, only appearing as a ghost[[/note]]]]. The third is the Ark itself being a Transformer, when it has never displayed this capability before in the G1 continuity.
204*** When the toy of the Ark was properly revealed, it surprisingly came with Mainframe, a character from the much maligned Action Masters subline from the end of ''Generation 1''. Not only that, Mainframe also ignores the toyline's attempts to adhere to show accuracy as best as possible by being completely yellow rather than blue and red, though this is because he turns into Teletran-1 as an odd instance of CompositeCharacter. The Ark's robot mode itself is another "unexpected homage", as it is modeled after Autonomous Maximus/The Last Autobot, an obscure character from the tail end of the original ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel''.
205*** Rodimus Prime was sort of expected in ''Kingdom'' (seeing as the subline also commemorates the 35th anniversary of [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie the original G1 movie]], and if he did not he would have instead appeared in the concurrently running [[Toys/TransformersStudioSeries Studio Series 84]] line instead), his toy does have a surprising inclusion: The Sword of Primus from ''Regeneration One''.
206*** While Terrorsaur was present in the original ''Beast Wars'' TV show, it was thought that he would be skipped over alongside his fellow Season 1 Predacons Tarantulas and Inferno (though the latter's omission was justified by him being a massive shelfwarmer during the original ''Beast Wars'' toyline). He made a surprising appearance in the final part of the Golden Disk Collection, albeit as a retool of Airazor (which causes him to be a bit less show accurate due to their designs having different proportions).
207*** The final wave of ''Kingdom'' added in Slammer, one of Metroplex's components. What makes his inclusion all the more surprising was that he was a [[EquippableAlly Weaponizer]], when that gimmick was previously thought to be only confined to ''Siege'' and in ''Kingdom'' was replaced by the similar [[BadToTheBone Fossilizer]] gimmick. There is also Shadow Panther, who while being a PaletteSwap of Cheetor (albeit with the "Mutant Head" was still a surprising inclusion (especially since they made a version of ''Beast Wars'' Ravage, which itself is also an example since it is modeled after a Season 2 Transmetal character despite the focus being on Season 1).
208* Series 3 of ''Toys/TheGrosseryGang'' brought back Blow Fly and Trash-A-Pillar, the mascots of ''Toys/TheTrashPack'', ''Grossery Gang's'' predecessor franchise. This came as a surprise to many, as the two of them were introduced as figures for the ''first'' series of ''Trash Pack'', making very sporadic toy appearances despite being the mascots.
209* A colouring book and mini doll release for the ''Literature/AmericanGirlsCollection'' in 2020 included Kirsten, a character who had been archived 11 years prior, so the target 8-12 age range wasn't likely to know she even existed unless they were active in the fandom or had seen her books in the library. Fans started to speculate as to whether she was coming back -- and whether she'd get an all-new collection like Samantha or be screwed over like the last two returning archived historicals, who were limited to one new outfit (and in one case, a set of underwear) on rerelease and became shelfwarmers.
210* Around the end of August to the beginning of September in 2021, Great Eastern Entertainment announced some new plushies for the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' franchise...including [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW Whisper the Wolf]], [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 Mephiles the Dark]], and [[VideoGame/SonicBattle Emerl]]. While all three are popular characters, the former comes from the comic series by Creator/IDWPublishing (When SEGA usually ignores the comics in terms of merchandising), while the latter two only had a major role in one game each.
211* Given the popularity of NECA's ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'' collector action figure line, it's bound to occasionally include figures that surprise most fans.
212** Mondo Gecko's announcement as an Ultimate figure in Summer 2020 was no shocker, since he's a fan favorite, but nobody anticipated that he would also come with Kerma, a minor character that's had no relevance in the franchise since he initially appeared in the 4 "Planet of the Turtleoids" episodes.
213** On February 2021, Scrag was revealed as a lootcrate-exclusive figure. Besides him being a minor villain that didn't return after season 1 of the show, his announcement was all the more glaring compared to lootcrate announcements for other parts of the ''TMNT'' franchise being fan favorites (such as the ''[[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTournamentFighters Tournament Fighters]]'' version of [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures Armaggon]]).
214** On February 2022, Zach and Smash were unveiled. While Zach does have some degree of fondness among the fanbase, Smash is a little-known one-shot villain, not to mention that one goon from his Crooked Ninja Turtle Gang would also be coming with a Rock Soldier in a 2-pack.
215** On World Turtle Day in May 2022, a 4-pack with pre-mutated human versions of Baxter Stockman, Hamato Yoshi, Bebop and Rocksteady was revealed. This was a pretty big surprise, but a welcome one.
216** On June 2022, the next character to receive the Ultimate figure treatment was revealed to be REX-1, who previously was a ToylessToylineCharacter during the show's initial airing. While not totally unexpected, he was a pleasant surprise for fans who wanted him to get a little more love.
217* In the ''[[Franchise/FireEmblem Fire Emblem Figure]]'' line of collectable figurines, while lord characters getting figurines in that line isn't all that surprising, there has been an instance where a curveball has not only been thrown ''once'', but '''''twice''''' in a row:
218** Many people were surprised to see two statuettes get announced on the same day, as individual statuettes had always been announced on their own. While one of the statuettes being [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Roy]] was more or less expected, the fact that he's paired with a statuette of his childhood friend '''Lilina''' was not what a lot of people were expecting. While Lilina herself is fairly popular, what makes her this is that she is not considered a lord/avatar character in the game she appeared in and doesn't have much importance in its plot compared to Roy, not to mention that she first appeared in [[NoExportForYou a game that never saw an international release]].
219** ''Almost nobody'' was expecting '''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Veronica]]''' to get a figurine in this line, moreso than Lilina, as while she is also popular, she was a ''Heroes''-exclusive character that never appeared in any mainline game at the time, Book VI just ended by that point, and her Legendary variant, the one her figurine is based on, wouldn't become playable until two days later.
220[[/folder]]
221
222[[folder:Web Animation]]
223* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' occasionally brings in little known and unexpected characters to fight for their lives. Sometimes a series protagonist isn't its first representative on this show.
224** Akuma, not Ryu, was the first Street Fighter character to appear.
225** Before Mario first appeared on the show, Goomba, Koopa, and Yoshi did.
226** Vegeta first appeared before Goku.
227** Shadow first appeared an episode before Sonic did.
228** Dr. Wily appeared before any main character of the Mega Man franchise.
229** In regards to One Piece, Luffy has only appeared in a cameo so far, but Roronoa Zoro, Portgas D. Ace, and Vinsmoke Sanji have all fought. [[spoiler:So far, only Ace has lost.]]
230** Two of the more notable examples being [[ComicBook/BuckyOHareAndTheToadWars Bucky O'Hare]], coming from a fairly obscure comic and cartoon series from the 70's/90's and took on [[Franchise/StarFox Fox McCloud]], and [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Yang Xiao Long]], who is from a web animation series running from 2013 which is growing in popularity but still fairly small and she took on [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Tifa Lockhart]]. [[spoiler:Yang defeated her more popular opponent. Bucky wasn't so fortunate.]]
231** Who would have thought that '''any''' characters from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' would ever step into ''Death Battle''? Yet, there have been four so far: [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRainbowDash Rainbow Dash]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPinkiePie Pinkie Pie]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTwilightSparkle Princess Twilight Sparkle]], and [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDiscord Discord]] who respectively fought [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Starscream]], ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'', ComicBook/{{Raven}}, and Bill Cipher.
232** Nine ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' characters have appeared on the show. Seven of them are among the most iconic characters in the franchise: Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Sonya Blade, Raiden, Shao Khan, Johnny Cage, and Shang Tsung. The other two, however? The eighth was Sindel, who is not ''quite'' as recognizable as the aforementioned characters but still well-known overall. The ninth was the relatively obscure Sektor.
233** While ComicBook/{{Carnage}} isn't the most popular ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villain, he still has a decent fanbase. His opponent, on the other hand, was Lucy from ''Manga/ElfenLied'', an obscure manga[=/=]anime that is rather niche to begin with.
234** Though ComicBook/{{Ultron}} was requested to appear in the series, most fans expected him to be pitted against ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} rather than [[VideoGame/MegaManX Sigma.]] It's also HilariousInHindsight after the two joined forces as a BigBadDuumvirate and [[FusionDance merged]] in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'' - in fact, Ultron-Sigma's existence itself was cited as a reason why ''Ultron vs. Sigma'' grew in popularity over time.
235** [[Webcomic/MobPsycho100 Mob]] and [[Webcomic/OnePunchMan Tatsumaki]] pit two lesser-known characters against each other. While ''One Punch Man'' was bound to get on the show at one point, it caught many off guard that the first character featured wasn’t Saitama or even Genos (although Genos was the second from the series and Saitama appeared later as well). However, few people expected ''Mob Psycho 100'' to ever be featured on the show at all. [[spoiler:On the OPM side, Tatsumaki is the only winner so far.]]
236** After ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' finally ended, it was inevitable that the franchise be featured on the show. The title character will be the first to appear, right? Wrong, it was Gaara (Naruto himself was the second, though). Seven other unexpected Naruto representatives include Jiraiya, Sasuke Uchiha, Might Guy, Kakashi Hatake, Rock Lee, Madara Uchiha, and Obito Uchiha.
237** The first ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' representative was Toph rather than Aang (who appeared second). Zuko and [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Korra]] also appeared later.
238** You'd think the eponymous ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' would be its first character to appear here, but no! It's Sailor Galaxia, the series' TrueFinalBoss.
239** [[Franchise/StarWars Yoda]] and [[Franchise/KingdomHearts King Mickey]] were these due to the unlikely odds of having either in the show. For the former, Ben Singer mentioned that he disliked Yoda's fighting style in the prequels and couldn't deal with focusing on it to make an episode. For the latter, it's because Disney is notorious for suing people over the use of Mickey Mouse. As such, having ''both'' characters fight each other in the debut battle of Season 8 surprised everyone who thought it could never happen.
240** [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda Po]] showing up to take on ComicBook/IronFist caught many fans off guard as, while as the match up was popular, an animated film character had never been used on the show prior to that point and many assumed that if one did appear, then it would be a Creator/{{Disney}} character first.
241** Downplayed, since she was the most popular opponent for who she was fighting, but many fans were caught off guard at seeing ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} show up on the show, since she is not as popular or well known a hero as many of the other DC heroes who had been brought on the show.
242** ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' was quite the surprise to be put on the show, especially since he's a kid-friendly cartoon character. Just as surprising was his opponent, Aquaman -- not a composite version, but specifically his ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' incarnation.
243** The first ''Manga/ChainsawMan'' representative was Makima rather than Denji.
244* ''WebAnimation/RWBYChibi'' offered one that also serves as a case of TrollingCreator. With the reveal of an episode called "Evil Interview", fans got hopeful about what villain would debut there. Turned out to be [[spoiler:Cardin Winchester]], a really minor and unpopular antagonist who hadn't appeared in two volumes of the main show - and as proven by the episode, [[EvilerThanThou is thoroughly outclassed in the evil department]] by the actual villains of ''RWBY''. [[https://twitter.com/GilbyRanger/status/959904148660596742 Even his voice actor]] stated he was surprised with the character's return.
245* ''Toys/EverAfterHigh'' is a children's series where the SpinOffspring of various FairyTale characters go to high school together. The series however has a ''very'' loose interpretation of the term "fairy tale", leading to unusual characters popping up. Who expected characters from ''Theatre/KingLear'', a Shakespearean tragedy, to appear?[[note]]Lear's daughter appears in the books.[[/note]]
246* ''WebAnimation/{{Confinement}}'':
247** The first [[Website/SCPFoundation SCP]] Connor has to deal with? Fernand the Cannibal. Quite a few SCP fans were pleased with this, as many would have expected them to start with the more well-known skips.
248** Just about ''every'' SCP featured prominently in the series so far is one of the more obscure ones, be they the main focus or just in the background. Episode 2 even features the ''extremely'' obscure SCP-2427-3, who ''doesn't even have an image depicting it.''
249** Not so much a character but a ''[[EldritchLocation location]]:'' in Episode 6 Connor goes up against [[spoiler:SCP-3008: A Perfectly Normal, Regular Old IKEA.]]
250[[/folder]]
251
252[[folder:Web Videos]]
253* [[Creator/PatrickRothfuss Viari's]] return in the second half of ''WebVideo/AcquisitionsIncorporated'' season 8 came as a huge surprise to everyone except himself and [[DungeonMaster Chris]]. Firstly, he was explicitly PutOnABus and replaced by a new intern in the first game of the season. Secondly, there have never been more than four players at an ''AI'' table before (in fact, said table is physically designed for four players)--much less two interns at once. Lastly, the mid-season recap [[RedHerring foreshadowed]] the return of ''Aeofel'', the series' original intern, making no mention of Viari at all.
254* ''WebVideo/SuburbanKnights'':
255** [[spoiler:WebVideo/ThatDudeInTheSuede]], for being away on a mission for two years prior to filming this, and secondly because [[LyingCreator he denied being in it in the first place.]]
256** In universe, everyone's surprised when WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob chooses to cosplay Franchise/IndianaJones, considering that he's not exactly who one thinks of when the topic is "fantasy". Snob justifies it by saying that [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull surviving a nuclear explosion in a fridge]] counts as fantasy. Likewise, they're surprised that the very tall Handsome Tom chose the very short Film/{{Willow}}.
257* {{Invoked}} in Thorgi's "Build That Roster" series of videos. Where he would normally pick a number of familiar faces for a hypothetical fighting game, but leave at least one character be the token "weird pick". For example, [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Mutagen Man]] in a hypothetical ''VIdeoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTournamentFighters'' sequel, Creator/ElviraMistressOfTheDark in a roster for a game based around horror films, or even AbandonedMascot [[VideoGame/{{Blinx}} Blinx the Time Sweeper]] for an Xbox equivalent to ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''.
258[[/folder]]
259
260[[folder:Other]]
261* For the Summer Game Fest livestream on June 22, 2020, they had Series/{{Alf}} as a special guest.
262* The 2021 [[Creator/TsuburayaProductions Tsuburaya]] Exhibition brought a very interesting surprise; [[Series/UltramanGaia Ultraman Agul]] in his Supreme Version form, which was a design first seen in a design book 23 years prior and hadn't been re-utilized since until now.
263[[/folder]]
264----
265->''[[MemeticMutation You'll never]]'' ''[[VideoGame/Persona5 see it]]'' ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate comiiiiiing...]]''

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