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13A WhamEpisode radically alters a StoryArc. A WhamLine is a line that radically alters a scene. A Wham Shot is the purely visual version.
14
15An unexpected move, or even a change of expression on one of the characters, can be all that's needed to alter a scene completely. It can actually be any event that doesn't need any characters commenting it for the viewer to realise an important twist is happening. In literature or any other written narratives, the WhamLine and the Wham Shot can be the same thing. In visual media however, the WhamLine tends to be a line of dialogue. The Wham Shot is anything else that can happen to alter a scene and is visible to the viewer or reader. Like its verbal or written cousin, the Wham Shot can be part of a WhamEpisode or of TheReveal. It also has to be completely unexpected.
16
17Different from RevealShot as it doesn't necessarily involve moving the camera to show the surprising element, but overlapping between the two tropes can be quite frequent.
18
19Possible special cases: RevealingHug, TraitorShot, ReactionShot, StalkerShot, TheStinger, The GutPunch, and/or the last frame of a StaggeredZoom.
20
21[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused]] with BoomHeadshot.
22
23!!Since this trope is usually related to plot twists, all spoilers will be unmarked in the examples below. Beware!
24[[noreallife]]
25----
26!!Example subpages:
27
28[[index]]
29* WhamShot/AnimeAndManga
30* WhamShot/ComicBooks
31* WhamShot/{{Film}}
32* WhamShot/LiveActionTV
33* WhamShot/VideoGames
34* WhamShot/WesternAnimation
35[[/index]]
36
37!!Other examples:
38[[foldercontrol]]
39
40
41[[folder:Advertising]]
42* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU-I3PmP3AY This]] PSA for the organization Child Cry initially looks like a sexy scene, with BowChickaWowWow music, mood lighting, and clothes strewn all over the floor on the way up the stairs. But the last shot completely recontextualizes everything... it's a ''child's'' sneakers and panties. It's now ''far'' from a sexy scene, as it's an anti-pedophilia PSA.
43* [[https://youtu.be/bdy32yOF_XA?feature=shared This French PSA]] gets to the point very quickly, as a woman by the name of Anne Leroy talks about how horribly her husband abused her... until "two weeks ago when [[HopeSpot it finally ended!]]" It then pans down to ''her grave''.
44* "[[https://youtu.be/CHI0SpKlWVY The Other Side]]" from the Sandy Hook Promise shows a teenage boy talking about how people see signs of a shooter [[BystanderSyndrome but do absolutely nothing about it]]. One can assume it is some sort of documentary until the camera pans out to reveal that the boy is ''loading an assault rifle'' and [[TranquilFury casually]] says that those who didn't do anything will wish they did tomorrow.
45* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UaFwGcHQ7Y George and Betty]], a fairly old PIF from the 1990s, seems to be about a happy elderly couple enjoying a nice night with each other, before the man in the couple decides to take out an electric blanket for them to both sleep under. Everything seems fine and dandy until the narrator comes in, stating "At George and Betty's night at romance, things got a bit..." - cue a shot of their bed, now ''burnt-out'' due to the electric blanket malfunctioning, presumably killing them both while they were sleeping, alongside the narrator stating [[{{Pun}} "...too hot to handle!"]].
46* The final commercial in the Advertising/LongLongMan series of ads for Sakeru Gummy has the lead characters, Tooru and Chi-chan, getting married, when the enigmatic Long Long Man, who's been Tooru's romantic rival and the target of Chi's lust, shows up. The Long Long Man then delivers a LoveConfession while walking towards Chi... and the camera zooms in as [[MovingRightThrough he steps past her]] and towards Tooru. This recontextualizes the entire ad campaign by revealing that the Long Long Man was gay all along, and this whole time he was going after Tooru and not Chi.
47* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3RTUlsqx2w This]] PSA by the [=NSPCC=] shows an [[AbusiveParents abusive father]] beating his own [[RogerRabbitEffect cartoon son]], ultimately culminating with him throwing his son down stairs. Then the camera pans down to reveal a live-action kid lying at the foot of the stairs as the caption "[[MoodWhiplash Real children don't bounce back.]]" appears.
48[[/folder]]
49
50[[folder:Asian Animation]]
51* The ''Animation/HappyHeroes'' episode "God of War Legend" has several:
52** Kalo's face gaining wrinkles after he holds back a massive energy blast, showing that [[CastFromLifespan he’s reaching the end of his life]].
53** Kalo giving Careful S. his visor before he leaves to take on the attacking fleet.
54** And later, him [[AndShowItToYou tearing his core out of his chest]], [[HeroicSacrifice blowing himself up as well as destroying the fleet]].
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Fan Works]]
58* ''Webcomic/FiveYearsLater'':
59** Chapter three has one in revealing a new player in the ongoing crososver plot of ''Franchise/Ben10'' and ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': GIR and the rest of the cast from ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim''.
60** Chapter seven reveals Technus's contribution to the villain's plan; mind controlling a group of alternate Ben's with nanites from the ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'' universe and making them into E.V.O aliens.
61* ''Roleplay/DarkWorldRolePlay'' (''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''): A few, but the first and most striking is from when Bolt scares off You Are An Idiot by inserting a [[ConnectedAllAlong Blue]] [[TransformationTrinket Tooth]] and "actively threatening the hit man". What makes this trope apply is that the moment was accompanied by an actual illustration!
62* ''Webcomic/FeralnetteAU'': During the ''Enough Rope'' arc, Marinette counters Hawkmoth's attempt at a BreakingSpeech with one of her own. Her word choice triggers a traumatic flashback for him -- and thanks to the Butterfly Brooch's power of Transmission, Marinette witnesses it too, seeing Emilie using the Peacock Pin. While she only recognizes her as 'another Mayura' rather than Emilie Agreste, the memory has ''enormous'' implications regarding how she fell comatose in the first place.
63* ''Fanfic/TheGoodHunter'':
64** Chapter 10: The Plain Doll is seen in the Hunter's Dream cleaning Cyril's grave, after an unknown amount of time has passed since the battle between Cyril and Gehrman.
65** Chapter 16: Sierra's consciousness ends up in the Hunter's Dream.
66* In the ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' ask blog, ''Ask Slave John'', humans are depicted as being enslaved by Trolls, John being one of them. We get three Wham Shots when someone asks if he's met any other humans:
67** When asked if he knew Dave Strider, he mentions that he and Dave were friends when being trained for slave labor and were sold to different masters, never seeing each other again. When John ponders where Dave is now, we see a silhouette of Dave wearing a suit with a teal Libra symbol, implying that his master is Terezi Pyrope.
68** Rose Lalonde is stated to have worked alongside John once, but later left. John mentions that he heard she became "a gift for some important jade blood", coupled with a silhouette of Rose wearing a jade-colored sash with a Virgo symbol. She's now owned by Kanaya.
69** Jade Harley's is probably the most shocking; she is mentioned to have belonged to Eridan and John states that she was likely killed, but at the same time remains optimistic that she may have been found someone who could help her survive--this is coupled with a silhouette of Jade holding a gun and wearing a silver necklace with a Cancer symbol on it. She's with Karkat now.
70* ''Webcomic/InvertedFate'':
71** In part 39, "Captain Cryptic" (whom the audience knows is Chara) decides to take on more of an active role in helping Frisk through the CORE. In doing so, their dialogue boxes now have their face in them, and stay that way.
72** In part 45, the SOUL mode from Mad Mew Mew is shown to have made Chara visible while temporarily separating them from Frisk, who looks at them in shock over the fact that they're a human.
73** In part 48, when Sans wants to prevent Frisk from running straight to Toriel after they ended up causing Undyne and Mettaton to amalgamate, it seems as if there will be another fight against him. But then when it gets to Papyrus's turn, the battle interface switches over to Frisk, and continues to do so for his turns as he tries to talk them out of it.
74** At the end of part 50, the transition screen into the Toriel fight sees the green human SOUL appear in Toriel's spot.
75** In part 53, Mettaton leads Frisk and Papyrus to the conspicuous covered object sitting in the corner of the house. He pulls off the blue sheet, revealing a golden statue of Chara; the one that was missing from the fountain at the MTT Resort.
76** Towards the end of part 61, after Flowey absorbs the [=SOULs=] of the remaining monsters, he breaks the barrier. After the credits, a new intro plays that shows him leaving for the surface, and Chara's hand is seen coming out of the ground, revealing that [[BackFromTheDead he brought them back to life]].
77* ''Fanfic/MastermindRiseOfAnarchy'': "Rematch" opens with Katsuki sneaking out of U.A. to go [[VigilanteMan patrolling as King]]... while Principal Nedzu watches through his office window, revealing that he's fully aware of Bakugou's activities and intends to [[UnwittingPawn use him as a stepping stone]] to boost Uraraka's growing reputation by setting her against her wayward classmate.
78* ''Fanfic/MarvelFalls'': At the end of chapter 4, it's revealed that Lil' Gideon has Maximus the Mad as his prisoner. And had also learned from him that Kamala's powers came from Terrigen Crystals.
79* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'': A couple in the original version.
80** Chapter 8: Typical [[AntiHero Kyril]] approaching a heavily injured man and interrogating him of course... wait, why does Kyril have tendrils out of his hand?
81** Chapter 14: Luu-Luu, under Shamuhaza's mercy.
82* ''Fanfic/PrehistoricParkReimagined'':
83** In the prologue, the sight of a genuine Jurassic period landscape, complete with real, live, flesh and blood dinosaurs, instantly serves as this InUniverse when Drew, Leon, and Adrian look through the portal for the very first time. Understandably, it's enough to put any doubts they had over whether Theodore was telling the truth about the portal firmly to rest and get them perfectly willing to accept Theodore's subsequent offer to work at the titular park.
84** In ''Red in Tooth and Claw'', the rescue team proves understandably surprised when they catch sight of a 'pack' of phorusrhacos...at a time in which they were officially considered to have already gone extinct.
85** The completely incidental discovery of a brand new prehistoric species of spider in ''Alien Empire'' likewise proves a subject of great surprise to the rescue team, while also being a source of [[SpidersAreScary great fright]] for [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes apparent arachnophobe Leon]].
86** At the tail end of ''Extras'' chapter ''[[MeaningfulName The Anomaly]]'', after readers and park staff alike have been treated to great mystery as to why an unaccounted for pack of dromaeosaurus somehow ended up at the park outside of the officially rescued dromaeosaurus pack's paddock, the answer is finally revealed to the readers via the glorious sight of [[Series/{{Primeval}} an entirely naturally occurring time vortex appearing out of thin air and eventually disappearing]] somewhere in the wild Florida landscape.
87* ''Fanfic/RedSadie'': In ''The Eye of the Storm'', Sadie digs through Clancy's dropped wallet in an attempt to learn more about him, and instead stumbles upon an old picture of him and Barb discovering a crashed Roaming Eye, revealing they both have more stake in the Gems then she thought.
88* ''WebAnimation/ReturnToKrocodileIsle'': At the end of the song, the climatic showdown between K. Rool and Donkey Kong [[ClimacticVolcanoBackdrop in a volcano]] cuts away to K. Rool having set fire to his cellar, laughing maniacally among his burning dummies of DK and the Kremling Krew. This shot completely recontextualizes everything that came before it as merely an ImagineSpot.
89* The ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ShiningAndSweet''; Glass Joe's daughter Katrina rushes home after a successful match to tell her father that she won and is getting ranked up, only to arrive and find him [[TakenForGranite frozen in stone]], with Von Kaiser (Joe's [[AdaptationalRelationshipChange husband]] and her stepfather) sobbing over his body.
90* ''WebVideo/SCPOverlord'':
91** The first shot of the people hovering above the trees.
92** The very last shot before the credits.
93[[/folder]]
94
95[[folder:Literature]]
96* ''Literature/CodexAlera''
97** In ''Cursor's Fury'', the Canim invasion force burns their ships behind them.
98--->'''Tavi:''' They mean to ''stay''.
99** At the end of the same book, Tavi becomes the first Aleran ever to see a female Cane, meaning that the invasion force wasn't just an invasion, it was a desperate attempt at ''colonization''.
100--->'''Tavi:''' I am not afraid of [[MagnificentBastard Nasaug]] anymore. I'm afraid of what drove him from his home.
101** In ''Princeps' Fury'', Tavi (who's in the Canim land of Shuar) sees That all the land outside Shuar is covered with ''croach'' -- the Vord have conquered it.
102* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'' provides another written one when Harry reaches the chamber where the Mirror of Erised is kept.
103--> "There was already someone there--but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.\
104[chapter break]\
105It was Quirrell."
106* ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'' (second book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''):
107** Despite being text only, the book still manages one at the climax.
108--->"Kaladin!" Syl's voice. "Stretch forth thy hand!" She zipped around him, suddenly visible as a ribbon of light.\
109"I can't..." Kaladin said, drained.\
110"''Stretch forth thy hand!''"\
111He reached out a trembling hand. Moash hesitated.\
112Wind blew in the opening in the wall, and Syl's ribbon of light became mist, a form she often took. Silver mist, which grew larger, coalesced before Kaladin, extending into his hand.\
113Glowing, brilliant, a Shardblade emerged from the mist, vivid blue light shining from swirling patterns along its length.
114** There's another ''after'' the climax.
115--->The air in front of him blurred, as if heated in a ring near the ground. A streak of light spun about the ring, forming a wall five or six feet high. It faded immediately -- really, it was just an afterimage, as if something glowing had spun in the circle very quickly.\
116In the center of it appeared Jasnah Kholin, standing tall.
117[[/folder]]
118
119[[folder:Music]]
120* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdUiCJnRptk This]] KPop music video ends with one. At first, it seems that [[LoveTriangle a man is jealous of his best friend for marrying a girl he liked]] (to add insult to injury, the groom made him his best man) and at the end angrily tears up a photo of them together. Then comes the wham shot...where he pushes the pictures of the ''[[IncompatibleOrientation groom]]'' and [[StraightGay himself]] together.
121* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rDoETo35h0 Useless]] by Music/DepecheMode where the very last shot changes the whole perception of the song revealing that the vocalist was singing not into the camera but addressing a girl whose POV it assumed.
122* Music/{{BTS}}'s music video storyline (known as the Music/BTSUniverse) features several of these.
123** "Blood, Sweat and Tears" has two: While Jin leans in to kiss a winged statue, it cuts to a shot of a veil being lifted over a hunched figure with the back towards the viewer; as the camera gets closer, we see that it's Taehyung with scars were wings would be, revealing him to be the figure the statue represents. The other happens at the very end; after everything breaks and falls apart, there's a final shot of Jin sitting in front of a mirror, looking towards his reflection...and seeing his face starting to crack like marble.
124** The ''Highlight Reels'' short films have a few:
125*** In Chapter 1, we see a train passing by, revealing a girl waiting across from Jin, and also the first important character who is not related to the main cast. We also see Jungkook on a wheelchair at a hospital, revealing that he survived the accident in "I NEED U". At the end of the chapter, we jump to a memory of Hoseok, which has 2 of these: we hear the voice of a woman saying "Hoseok-ah, close your eyes", fading to a shot of a mother and a child in front of a carousel, with the mother leaving while the child covers his eyes. The next shot shows the child from a bit closer, still waiting, while a Snickers candy bar (the same one seen in the "MAMA" teaser for ''WINGS'') rests next to him. That's how we learn Hoseok's mother abandoned him.
126*** In chapter 3, we get several: The sink where Jimin is desperately washing his hands is starting to fill with ''blood'', Taehyung gets arrested, and Jungkook arrives to his new friend's hospital bed, only to find it empty.
127*** Chapter 4 shows several flashbacks in reverse, ending with Jin appearing back on his room from before (with a text showing the date, even), taking off the sweater he was trying on to reveal an absolutely exhausted and sad expression, putting on a casual cap instead. This reveals Jin's ability to go back in time.
128** The end of "Fake Love (extended version)" has Jungkook join the members while wearing a mask and a black tunic, with the camera slowly pulling away from the group, and then a huge block descends from above, appearing to either lock from view or ''crush'' the boys.
129* ''Music/EvilliousChronicles'': The music video of "Moonlit Bear" reveals that the apples that Eve is carrying the entire time are crying babies, which she's stolen from their mother.
130[[/folder]]
131
132[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
133* Given the visual storytelling that goes into pro-wrestling, a lot of the biggest and most game-changing moments come in the form of these. Some of the biggest examples include:
134** Wrestling/HulkHogan looking like he's coming in to save Wrestling/RandySavage from The Outsiders, [[FaceHeelTurn only to drop the leg on Savage]] [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder and celebrate with Hall and Nash]] marks a major turn in the landscape of pro wrestling.
135** [[Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob Shawn Michaels locking Bret Hart in the Sharpshooter and the bell ringing despite Bret not tapping]] kickstarts the Attitude Era.
136** Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin [[FaceHeelTurn shaking hands]] with longtime enemy Mr. [=McMahon=] ends the Attitude Era.
137** Wrestling/EricBischoff nonchalantly appearing backstage on Raw to become the General Manager after having been president of WCW shows that anybody can appear even if they nearly drove Vince out of business (doubles as a Wham Shot for the guys backstage too as almost nobody was informed ahead of time Bischoff would even be in the building).
138** Similarly Wrestling/LexLuger appearing on the very first ''Nitro'' despite seemingly being under WWE contract at the time helps put the Monday Night Wars into full gear and shocked everyone in the building as nobody was expecting him either.
139** At the 2016 ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble'', the words [[Wrestling/AJStyles I Am Phenomenal]] appearing on the titantron signal the long-awaited debut of possibly the biggest star to never fully work for WWE.
140[[/folder]]
141
142[[folder:Theatre]]
143* From the revival of ''Theatre/CinderellaRodgersAndHammerstein'', Ella in a panic is leaving the ball as the Clock strikes Twelve, looses her glass slipper on the stair case, and as Prince Topher goes to pick it up, [[PlotTwist she hurries back and grabs it]], then in a panic rushes off into the darkness as the Prince calls after her. Cue end of Act 1.
144* ''Theatre/{{Falsettos}}'': Coredlia and Charlotte sing a brief song [[{{Foreshadowing}} about the slow rise of AIDS]]. Immediately afterwards, the scene goes straight to Whizzer playing tennis with Marvin and collapsing.
145[[/folder]]
146
147[[folder:Visual Novels]]
148* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'', being plot-heavy and famous for its plot twists, is prone to this:
149** ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney''
150*** At the start of the fourth case of the first game, you see someone apparently being shot dead[[note]]it's later revealed that the actual murder took place elsewhere[[/note]], at which point Edgeworth is the one shown holding the gun. No, he isn't the killer, but this shot goes to show that this case is far more personal and has higher stakes than the previous one.
151*** Near the end of the last case in ''Justice for All'', there is one where your client, Matt Engarde, suddenly reveals his status as a BitchInSheepsClothing by uncovering the vicious scars over his eye. The result is far from pretty.
152*** The opening of Case 3-3 has the judge apparently at the end of a trial, about to have the defendant found guilty. The prosecutor, Winston Payne, gloats about his victory...and then the camera cuts to the defense's bench, revealing ''Phoenix himself'' standing there. It quickly turns out to be an imposter, but still, that's one way to keep the player on their toes.
153** In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' we have Athena surrounded by five black Psyche-Locks. Keep in mind that [[VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney the only other person in the series to have those]] was beyond redemption. The original shot of Black Psyche-Locks from ''Apollo Justice'' counts too.
154** ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'':
155*** In Case 2, just before the end of the investigation, we get a whammy when entering the Wright Anything Agency: the place is full of red tapes reading "REPOSSESSED"; this is because Trucy is in debt with Roger Retinz (of ''3 million dollars'') and the man is getting his money back by seizing and selling the office. Apollo and Athena are quite shocked, understandably.
156*** Case 3 has a big one, and of the "family relationship" type. Dhurke, the leader of the rebels in Khura'in, has two sons: Nahyuta Sahdmadhi (yes, that jerk prosecutor you've faced) and Apollo Justice (though only adopted).
157*** Case 5 starts with Apollo and Trucy watching the television, where they are talking about the Defiant Dragons's leader Dhurke. After some lines, said rebellion leader is walking through the door, happily greeting Apollo.
158* ''VisualNovel/FamicomDetectiveClubTheMissin Heir'' has a two-in-one example. When the Ayashiro Family's tomb is finally opened with Genshin's permission, Akira Ayashiro is found to have been stuffed inside after being BludgeonedToDeath, with Kiku's corpse nowhere to be found. Examining his carcass causes the protagonist to finally remember how he fell off Unakami Cliff and lost his memory in the first place: Akira attacked and threw him off the cliff.
159* ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}'':
160** At the start of the game, Gillian receives a DistressCall from another Junker, Jean Jack Gibson, about a probable Snatcher in an abandoned factory. Shortly after you arrive, you meet Jean Jack Gibson... after [[OffWithHisHead his head has been torn off by the Snatcher]].
161** Three in a row in Freddy Nielsen's apartment. First, the discovery of sunscreen, used by the Snatchers to protect their artificial skin. This is followed by Lisa Nielsen without the scratches on her face covered, revealing her as a Snatcher. And when the lights of the apartment turn back on and Gillian returns to the apartment, Metal tells him to look in the mirror... revealing Freddy Nielsen standing right behind Gillian.
162** After uncovering a strange Chinese form in an abandoned hospital linked to the Snatchers, Gillian manages to decode the name on the form: Benson, revealing the possibility that either Junker engineer Harry Benson or Junker chief Benson Cunningham has been snatched.
163** When Gillian discovers four decomposed skeletons in the morgue of a Snatcher-controlled hospital, Metal Gear runs virtual facial reconstructions on them. The first two are the aforementioned Freddy and Lisa Nielsen. The third, Chin Shu Oh, confirms their suspicions of him being a Snatcher. The fourth? Benson Cunningham.
164* ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'': At the end of Chapter Five, Hajime Hinata is left in a state of shock that lasts a whole day due to the outcome of the chapter's trial. The next day, he comes out of his cottage, and is greeted by Chiaki Nanami, who died at the end of the previous trial. And then the world gets seriously weird...
165* In ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'', the game hits you hard when you find Sayori having committed suicide in her room. Then it gives you a twofer when you return to the main menu and find that both her character portrait and the new game option are heavily corrupted, both foreshadowing the events to come and that the player had not reached a bad ending.
166* ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'' has the ending of [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight Anghel's route]]: an InterfaceScrew revealing that the game has temporarily become a ''fantasy JRPG''. It's often cited as one of the coolest parts of the game.
167* In ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'', Akira uses his [[{{Psychometry}} Bloodmetry]] on his aunt's blood, to figure out how she was attacked by Kakuya. The scene shifts to Natsumi's perspective, with her getting a single glimpse of the culprit before she falls into a coma. It's cute little Ami, her daughter, and the protagonist's cousin.
168* ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'' has this in spades. Primarily due to each separate timeline having differences the player wouldn't be expecting.
169** In most routes, when you enter the AB Room for voting the first time around, you find a dead body. This in itself creates its own wham shot in the Cyan set of routes, when you enter the room expecting the body to be there but it's completely empty. Unless you have played the Cyan routes first, in which case you only experience the first whammy.
170** Entering Room 2 of the Crew Quarters and finding either Alice's body, Luna's body, or in some routes Alice ''and'' Luna's bodies.
171** In Clover's route, entering the Infirmary, and finding Tenmyouji, Alice, Luna, Clover, Phi, and Dio all dead in a bloody pile.
172** In Luna's route, when Luna appears outside the AB room late in the route despite seemingly having been murdered earlier.
173** Alice's route, when the AB game results show that Alice's vote was "betray", despite her seemingly having not even voted.
174** When the results of Tenmyouji and Alice's first AB round votes are shown on your second run-through of their respective routes, and their votes have changed between the timelines.
175** K's route ending, where Sigma pulls of K's mask revealing K's face to be Sigma's face.
176** Sigma's reflection in the water, revealing that he's actually got an old man's body.
177** In Luna's route, when you access the GAULEM database and Luna's picture comes up, revealing that she's a robot.
178** In Sigma's route, when Sigma looks down at his hand and sees it's bleeding white blood.
179** Tenmyouji's photo being shown to be a photo of Akane Kurashiki.
180** K taking off his suit in Phi's route revealing that it's Akane Kurashiki inside.
181[[/folder]]
182
183[[folder:Web Animation]]
184* ''WebAnimation/AnimatorVsAnimation'': At the end of "The Virus", the first episode of "Animator vs. Animation Shorts", just when [[BigBad ViraBot]] is about to kill The Second Coming, a portal appears. After some time passes, The Chosen One comes out of the portal to help the animator and the stick figures to destroy the virus.
185* ''WebAnimation/MysterySkullsAnimated'':
186** After the camera zooms into a painting Mystery notices, showing events before the video, the one driving the van is a heretofore unseen member of the group, a human Lewis.
187** TheReveal that Lewis was killed by a possessed Arthur turns the first half of the animation from a [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo funny]] ShoutOut to a complete [[TearJerker tragedy]].
188** In "Freaking Out," there's a shot of Arthur's computer showing different locations (including his uncle's auto shop). There are multiple pictures of Lewis; some of them are crossed out, while one picture (along with one of Ghost Lewis) has question marks next to it. This seems to indicate that not only did Arthur not recognize Lewis as a ghost, ''he doesn't even know Lewis is dead''.
189* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'':
190** In the final episode of Season 10, the context of the last forty episodes is turned on its head when the Director finally removes his ScaryShinyGlasses to {{reveal}} his eyes are [[FamilyEyeResemblance the same color]] as Carolina's.
191** In the final episode of Season 12, TheStinger where Control a.k.a. Malcom Hargrove demands to know whether a package he wanted was delivered to him. The computer screen then shows the Meta's helmet.
192* The ''WebAnimation/RiseOfTheMushroomKingdom'' flash series starts when Mario is killed by a Bullet Bill, causing Luigi to go after Bowser to avenge his brother's death. At the end of part two, Luigi visits Mario's grave, a Bullet Bill just misses him, and Wart is revealed to be the true culprit. Unfortunately, enough viewers couldn't put the pieces together that the frustrated creator had to put up a message explaining what was going on.
193* ''WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers'':
194** ''The Mario Convention'' started off like any other [=SMG4=] video, with antics and memes galore. Then, when Mario tries to get an autograph from Hideo Kojima for Luigi, Kojima hands him something... a T-Pose Mushroom, which, a few episodes prior, almost brought about a ZombieApocalypse.
195** ''The Inkling Disappearances'' opens with a shot of Axol's face, suggesting that he is in fact the BigBad of the Anime Arc. Then at the end, the shot is repeated...and the shot zooms out to reveal Axol's chained up in a jail cell.
196* ''WebAnimation/ThereSheIs'': The end of step 3, where a rock gets thrown through Nabi's window (setting up both the plot and [[CerebusSyndrome tone]] of the next step).
197* ''WebAnimation/XRayAndVav'': At the end of "Coal & Order," the man in the mental asylum, whom our heroes must go to for help, turns around –- it's the Mad King.
198[[/folder]]
199
200[[folder:Webcomics]]
201* In ''Webcomic/AgentsOfTheRealm'', the second-to-last page of Chapter 3 reveals that not only Jordan already works as an agent, but she also cooperates with TheDragon, Ruby.
202* In ''Webcomic/BeyondBloom'' the story seems to be grounded in a realistic Earth setting (aside from one detail). While mid-conversation, [[http://beyondbloom.webcomic.ws/comics/19 this]] happens. A dragon interrupts the scene, leaving protagonists to wonder what the creature even was, and completely changing the course of the story.
203* In ''Webcomic/CirqueRoyale'' Fred is telling his nieces and nephew about how he lost his leg on Red's insistance. He talks about how his parents King George and Queen Louise were expecting a third princess and the first prince in their family. Then they show George's horrified face and the image of Fred and Will as infants--born as ConjoinedTwins, with only three legs between the two babies.
204* In ''Webcomic/TheDragonDoctors'', Chapter 21 sees Elka and Greg [[http://dragondoctors.dhscomix.com/archives/comic/ch-21-page-16 walk into the demons' headquarters and see]] Shelinda the Cyber-Shaman (whom most would have assumed was dead centuries earlier) hooked up to a hideous array of machines.
205* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', the sudden appearance of Nanase's [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2009-03-19 change of hairstyle and wardrobe]] completely changes the dynamic between Nanase and Ellen which leads to [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2009-04-18 their first argument as a couple]].
206* ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'': The final panel of [[http://archives.erfworld.com/Book+3/117 Book 3 Page 117]], shows Parson in Charlescomm livery.
207* In ''Webcomic/GiftsOfWanderingIce'', the [[http://icegifts.webcomic.ws/comics/207 scene]] where Rita learns what the legendary black iceberg really was.
208* ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}'':
209** "Hand to Hand" (Nov. 13, 2013): Jata, the VERY MUSCULAR crown Prince of Feraga, has just laid waste to his own arranged wedding, knocked his forced-bride-to-be into the pool, and is currently beating the stuffing out of his own bodyguards (who have turned on him because of his insensitivity to the feelings of his own bride) with no sign of stopping until Uncle Deadeye, the mute bodyguard seen in two previous strips, stops Jata's fist from connecting with the back of Miles' head, SMILING as he does it! We then cut away while someone in the audience says "Wow, I didn't know cats could bend like THAT."
210** End of Year Eight (June 3rd, 2016): Keene Milton is revealed to still be alive, but regains consciousness inside his limo, which has apparently been driven off a pier, is rapidly sinking, and his chauffeur has gone AWOL.
211* ''Webcomic/LeavingTheCradle'': On the [[https://leavingthecradle.com/comic/61 third page of Chapter 3]], it is revealed that Gharr wasn't the only person who survived after the research shuttle got shot down.
212* ''Webcomic/{{Muted}}'': Episode 64 ends with a shot of Avaline smacking her mother over the head with a vase.
213* ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'': the last panel of "Professor Madblood and the Everlasting Ices of the North", where Dave reads a quote from "Alice in Wonderland", and his glasses clear because he has just GoneMadFromTheRevelation that he is really a mad scientist and Helen has been experimenting on him for the entire run of the comic.
214* ''Webcomic/{{Nebula}}'': The final panel of comic 17, showing Pluto post-transformation into a HumanoidAbomination very similar to Ceres, having grown another pair of arms and having two thumbs on each hand like Black Hole.
215* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
216** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0842.html The Draketooth family tree]] reveals why the family perished in the recent past. The clan had a black dragon ancestor, and Vaarsuvius had previously cast a spell called "Familicide" that killed everyone related to the black dragon that had tried to kill V's mate and children.
217** After Nale angrily rebuffs his father's final offer at reconciliation, Tarquin sighs, reluctantly accepting Nale's decision, with his hand extended forward. The next panel then shows that [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0913.html Tarquin has fatally stabbed Nale]].
218** Thor shows Durkon and Minrah that the gods erected a gravestone on the astral plane for the previous world that the Snarl destroyed. And then shows them a second gravestone. And then a third. And then ''[[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1139.html countless others]]''.
219** After Thor explains how vitally important the colors of gods' divine auras are, and that no creation of the three surviving pantheons (each with their own distinct color) can ever be strong enough to permanently imprison [[GreaterScopeVillain the Snarl]] (which was created by ''four'' pantheons and thus four aura colors), he points out that there is someone else with a unique aura color: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1141.html the Dark One]].
220** While scouting Kraagor's Gate, Lien and O-Chul are captured by a mysterious figure... [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1226.html who's revealed to be]] Serini Toormuck, [[SoleSurvivor the last of the Order of the Scribble]]... or at least, [[BodyHorror what's left]] [[TwoFaced of her]] after her last run-in with Xykon.
221** After Roy has a conversation with his sister Julia (who claims to have developed an advanced Sending spell to allow long-range communications), he leaves to meet up with the rest of the Order. [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1276.html "Julia" then reveals herself to be the ghost of her and Roy's late father Eugene in disguise]].
222* In ''Webcomic/SecretOfManaTheater'', during the fight with the Spiky Tiger, Faun draws the sword she claimed Elinee had stolen, revealing that she had stolen it and was manipulating him into helping her rescue Dyluck. The significance of doing so is not lost on Seth, and he [[WhatTheHellHero becomes quite upset]].
223* ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}'': Mike, who was last seen getting killed by aliens in ''Webcomic/ItsWalky'', is alive and well.
224* In ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'', [[http://www.sleeplessdomain.com/comic/chapter-2-page-28 Chapter 2 Page 28]] has Tessa arrive on the scene of a battle to find Sally, Gwen, and Sylvia dead and Undine hanging on by a thread.
225* In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', during Torg's first date with Zoe, it seems as though the two are about to kiss, but then it turns out that Torg is kissing Oasis, who'd come BackFromTheDead for the first time.
226* ''Webcomic/Trevor2020'':
227** Trevor’s corpse [[NotQuiteDead suddenly sitting up.]]
228** The security terminal for the door to leave the facility identifying the severed hand being used by Trevor to unlock it as [[KilledOffscreen Dr. Maddison’s.]]
229* ''{{Webcomic/Unsounded}}'': Lemuel's co-pilot is revealed to be Mikaila when Duane removes her helmet, six years (nearer 10 for readers) after Lemuel confirmed that she died in the assassins' attack on Duane, recontextualizing the whole of Duane's understanding of his current state and his brother.
230* ''Webcomic/WeAreTheWyrecats'' reveals through some surveillance footage that Lamar, one of the former members of the Wyre Cat team, is responsible for stealing military-grade enhancements and the mooks K.A. has been dealing with have been part of his forces.
231[[/folder]]
232
233[[folder:Web Original]]
234* ''WebOriginal/SeventeenThousandSevenHundredSeventySix'':
235** The very beginning has a meta one. Upon first viewing, it initially looks like an ordinary SB Nation article about the future of American football (albeit with [[FreezeFrameBonus a number of discrepancies]], if you can look). Shortly after loading, however, the page's text abruptly expands in size, completely blotting out the screen with black...and ''then'' the story proper begins.
236** During the first chapter, the main character (Nine) has no clue what or where they are. Not long before it ends, their friend Ten tells them to take a picture of themselves. The resulting photo is of a space probe, shortly leading into a WhamLine clarifying that Nine and Ten ''are actually sentient space probes.''
237* At the end of his Christmas 2013 episode, WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd finds a good ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' game... that has [[BigBad LJN]]'s logo on it.
238* Part 6 of ''Webcomic/AsteroidQuest'' has two in the same update. First [[https://questden.org/kusaba/quest/src/143426967418.png we see what Penn looks like without her contacts,]] (accompanied with a noticeable shift in narration style), then we see her through the eyes of everyone else, discovering the database's title for her: "biological reincarnation of the Sapphire Emperor".
239* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'':
240** While the King of Worms is probing through Linkara's soul, he sees flashes of Linkara's previous encounters with villains. However, these flashes soon settle on a shot of [[WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee the Plot Hole]], which then transitions to Lewis in his apartment, filming a scene. Then he starts [[EvilLaugh laughing]]...
241** From ''Ultimate Power'' #4: Linkara with The Entity's pixel eyes.
242** From ''Mr. T and the T-Force'' #4, TheStinger, which sees the tenth anniversary storyline kicked off by Linkara and Linksano seeing someone who resembles Linkara in a tattered version of his original outfit.
243* ''WebVideo/DaisyBrown''
244** [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4vOe4_W0UI8 "Artistic video"]] starts out as a simple video about Daisy drawing, until Alan shows up with ''realistic'' pictures of her doing so. Daisy is appropriately disturbed, since it means he's no longer blind, ''and'' he's been deceiving her about it for who knows how long.
245* ''WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared'':
246** Halfway through 5, Duck Guy wakes up in a mysterious dark room. Eventually, we see that his body had been sliced open, and his organs are being processed into canned food product.
247** After all the madness dies down, there's only one thing left in the kitchen: Yellow Guy, now obese, having eaten all of the cans containing Duck Guy.
248** In 6, Red Guy walking up to the machine and seeing Yellow Guy, still in his "lesson", on the monitor; this reveals the entire series had taken place in a LotusEaterMachine.
249** A few seconds later in "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 6" sees the reappearance of Tony, followed by several other teachers who at this point had only appeared in one episode each.
250** A third one in the sixth episode is the appearance of a long yellow hand, belonging to the father of the Yellow Guy.
251* There are several in ''LetsPlay/{{Dream}}'s'' videos.
252** In the 2 Hunters video, Dream is falling off the edge of the End and into the void. George then kills Sapnap. And then we see a few Ender Pearls drop right into Dream's hotbar.
253* Among ''many'' others, in the ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'', during the L'Manburg War for Independence in Season 1, Wilbur defies Dream's ultimatum and declares that he'd rather die than betray his own cause, being unfazed by a block of TNT. As Dream detonates the block of TNT, the L'Manburgians then see [[NukeEm hundreds of blocks of TNT under the cracked surface of L'Manburg]], a few of them primed to explode from the initial blast.
254* ''WebVideo/EverymanHYBRID'', when it starts, is a fitness series where [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos the Slender Man]] keeps appearing in the background. All that changes in ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNTmngXbLoE Episode 6 -- Healthy Eating]]'', in which the ruse is revealed. They see the actor that plays Slender Man behaving strangely through a window, and seek him out, only to find [[RealAfterAll he's not playing Slender Man.]] And then, [[JumpScare they hear something behind them and turn around.]]
255* ''WebVideo/HalfLifeButTheAIIsSelfAware'': The science team arrives on Xen in Act 4, and Gordon looks around on the floating island they arrived on to see Benrey's become [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever HUGE]] and floating in the air, revealing his [[EldritchAbomination true identity.]]
256* In ''Series/{{Noob}}'', one of the characters attacks a enemy player that seems to be present near his group just by chance, only to have his guild master (that he hadn't seen in weeks) block his sword.
257* The Season 1 finale of ''Podcast/ThePenumbraPodcast'' has a big one that turns what was being set up as a HappyEnding into a SuddenDownerEnding. (Given that it's in an audio medium, it's more of a [[WhamShot Wham Sound Effect]].) After a season's worth of pining, Juno and Peter have [[RelationshipUpgrade finally gotten together]]; Juno has agreed to quit his job and travel the galaxy with Peter, and they're spending the night together in a hotel room before they leave Mars. As Peter falls asleep, Juno talks about how he wants to spend the rest of his life with him... and then wordlessly [[NotStayingForBreakfast gets dressed, packs up his things, leaves the hotel without saying goodbye to Peter, and goes back to the detective agency.]]
258* ''Roleplay/RubyQuest'' has some good ones.
259** Early on, Stitches' full body is shown -- and it's a mass of blood and guts, marking the quest's transition into horror.
260** Much later, Tom finds Upper Lab B's light switch- revealing that it's absolutely ''covered'' in fleshy growths connected to its prisoner, Tom Nook.
261** The second-to-last panel reveals that Tom Nook was not the extremely dangerous Subject #6. Ruby's friend Tom was Subject #6.
262** ''Roleplay/RubyQuest'''s SpiritualSuccessor ''Roleplay/NanQuest'' is no slouch in this regard either.
263*** In the Anasazi Lounge, [[http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questarch/src/141620044923.gif this image]] suddenly reveals that the Pilgrim is attacking again. Also doubles as a JumpScare.
264*** Henry donning the Pilgrim costume.
265---->'''Henry''': I just wanted my family back. To know that they're all right. To see my daughter again. To hold my wife. [[http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questarch/res/603095.html#608073 I'd kill for that.]]
266*** Lorenzo revealing themselves in the burned shrine, after multiple panels of the figure being obscured and unrecognizable. [[http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questarch/src/141869819506.gif The panel is even in different dimensions from the rest of the quest to really emphasize it.]]
267*** Pablo fatally stabbing Lorenzo, which constitutes a HeroicSacrifice. Also doubles as a WhamLine.
268---->"Nan, you've done so much for us. Ever since we've been here. You've done more than any of us. It's not fair of me to treat you like this, after everything. Because I asked you to pick between us, you already had to make [[SadisticChoice one hard decision]]. You shouldn't have to make another. [[http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questarch/res/636485.html#645915 So I'm making the choice for you.]]"
269*** At the very end of the adventure, [[http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questarch/src/143351197006.gif we see the full version of entry 466,]] providing some additional context.
270----> "Nan, I won't let you leave. [[DeathSeeker Not until you have taken my life.]] I hope that one day you will under-- my convictions. But believe me wh-- that it must be you. I pray to God-- will be able to do what must be-- and I can only beg your forgiveness."
271* ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'': Like with the original series, the purple 'Immortal Object' popup (which usually indicates scenery and other things players aren't supposed to destroy) is this, twice. First, the popup appears over Yui when she easily defeats a powerful monster, and the second time it appears over Heathcliff when Kirito attacks him after connecting his {{Shout Out}}s to Kayaba's.
272* ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'':
273-->'''WebVideo/NostalgiaCritic''': Well, I might as well check my email.\
274''[he opens his laptop and looks at the open Word document]''\
275TO BOLDLY FLEE\
276By Doug and Rob Walker
277* WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows is all set to watch the movie that One-Hit Wonderland subject "St. Elmo's Fire" originates from...then he sees [[Creator/JoelSchumacher who the director is]].
278* ''WebVideo/VinesauceTomodachiLife'' has a view:
279** Early in Episode 47, Vinny casually browses through the apartments as usual -- and then comes upon [=HOTDOG=], an islander who was removed ''25 episode prior''.
280** The long-awaited 50th episode begins with the news, as usual. Except the newscaster is someone we've never seen before (later revealed to be [[Series/TheXFiles Dana Scully]]). Then it cuts to the islanders' thoughts, and the first one up is Fox Mulder, who had ''also'' never been seen before. Following him is Wario, who was [[AssimilationPlot assimilated]] and assumed dead in the previous episode.
281** Episode 54 sees Vinny choose one of two islanders to be removed by having them fight in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''. Once it's over, he (obviously) returns to the character select screen. And then moves Player 1's cursor over Pit, revealing that [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle Vlinny (the winner) isn't out of the frying pan yet.]]
282[[/folder]]

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